


Good Fences

by StarvingLunatic



Series: Please Baby [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Children, Drama, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Female Character of Color, Homophobia, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Character of Color, Novel, Romance, Same-Sex Marriage, Wordcount: 50.000-100.000, Wordcount: Over 50.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-10
Updated: 2011-09-11
Packaged: 2018-03-06 19:25:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 60,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3145787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarvingLunatic/pseuds/StarvingLunatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sequel to "Please Baby." Gus and Jayce are married with a family. They have a new house in a new neighborhood with new neighbors. They're going to try to fit in... really. Okay, the neighborhood's going to have to accept them on their terms. F/F</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A fresh start

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Welcome to another original story by this lunatic. It is the sequel to Please Baby, which you will need to read to understand what’s going on here. The story is mine and the characters are mine. Please do not use them without my permission.
> 
> General warning: This story involves a sexual relationship between two women. If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that.

Good Fences

1: A fresh start

“Mommy, is this the new house?” Octavia Tucker, currently the world’s most eager toddler, inquired. Her nearly black eyes shined with curiosity and excitement as she tugged at the straps of her car seat, wanting to free herself.

“Yes, baby, this is the new house. Now, if you would just calm down, Mommy will let you out and you can go look around for yourself,” Jayce Tucker informed the child. Her own almost-onyx eyes twinkled with delight, happy to see her daughter so pleased.

Jayce climbed out of the driver’s seat of the small SUV. The sunlight hit her ebony hair in a way that showed off the slight red taint to her hair, which Octavia noticed and marveled over while her mother got her out of the car seat. As soon as she was unbuckled though, Octavia forgot all about her mommy’s hair and leaped out of the car to explore the vast new world that was their yard.

“Make sure you stay out of moving men’s way and don’t wander out of sight,” Jayce called the child, who knew those things already. Jayce just felt it necessary to remind the hyper little girl.

For a moment, Jayce had to take in the source of her daughter’s excitement—their new home. It was a two-story home with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, office space, a large kitchen, sunken living room, huge basement, and a giant backyard. She never thought that she would ever be able to live some place like their new home. It was like a dream come true. But, then again, she thought as she turned her focus to the other passenger, much of her life lately seemed like a dream come true.

“Yes, Gus-Gus, even your existence is like a dream, baby-boy,” Jayce cooed to her son as she unstrapped the baby from his car seat.

The little baby boy cheered, grinning wildly as his mother took him into her arms. Gently, she caressed his chubby sienna cheek, noting the contrast in their coloring. She was usually lighter than he was, but being out in the summer sun was changing that. He turned his head to her hand, cooing and taking her attention back to him.

“Do you see our beautiful house, Gus-Gus? And then we have this huge yard, front and back. You’ll love it when you’re a little bit older. Once you can really walk and everything,” Jayce remarked with a smile.

The baby did not say anything, not that Jayce expected him to say anything. She grabbed his bag from out of the car and was about to go to the house, but she was held up momentarily. She noticed a man standing on the porch of the house next door. He smiled and waved at her. She smiled and waved back, which he seemed to take as a sign that it was safe to come over.

As he marched over, Jayce took a good look at him. He had somewhat of a surfer look to him. He had shaggy blond hair with some curls on the end. His face was smooth and he continued sporting a big smile. A plain white t-shirt showed that his arms were as pale as his face.

“Howdy, neighbor, I’m Trevor Bradshaw,” he introduced him, putting out his hand.

“Hi, I’m Jayce Tucker,” she replied, shifting her son a bit, so she could shake her neighbor’s hand.

“Glad to see a family moving in next door. My son…” He paused a moment to point back over to his house where a tiny blond head was poking out the door. “…Travis has been dying for some kids his age around. The couple that lived here before were childless,” he informed her.

“Well, this one won’t be playing anytime soon. But, that one,” she pointed over to Octavia, who was playing around in a patch of flowers around the house. “She doesn’t stop playing.”

“That’s good. How old is she?”

“Four going on both forty and one at the same time,” Jayce quipped.

Trevor chuckled. “Well, Travis is five and I think he’s going to stay that way for the next twenty years. He’s waiting for me to signal him that it’s safe.”

It was Jayce’s turn to laugh. “Go ahead and signal him then. We don’t bite. Although our little princess might talk his ear off if the right topic comes up.”

Trevor laughed more and then turned his attention to his son. He waved to the child, who ducked back into the house. For a moment, Jayce thought that he was running away, but found out that was not the case. He showed up a few seconds later, tugging a brunette woman with him.

Jayce giggled at the sight, thinking it was very cute. Quickly, she turned away and called Octavia over to meet their neighbors. The little girl rushed over, grinning all the way. She stood next to Jayce as Travis came to stand next to Trevor.

“Octavia, baby, these are our neighbors,” Jayce reported to the little girl.

“Hi, I’m Octie!” the little girl announced, holding her hand out for Travis to shake.

“Hi…” the little blond said. His voice was tiny, mostly likely due to shyness, Jayce figured.

“I like your hair cuz it’s curly,” Octavia said, reaching out and running her fingers right through the boy’s hair. An instant blush covered his cheeks.

“Your hair’s pretty too…” Travis commented, voice still quite low. He did not go so far to touch Octavia’s ebony tresses, which were done in curls too. Her curls were not natural like his, though.

Jayce smiled again and turned her attention to the woman with Travis. “Hi, I’m Jayce Tucker and this little guy is Augustus Tucker,” she introduced herself again and the baby in her arms.

“Helena Bradshaw,” the woman stated in strong voice. She had sharp green eyes with a stern, but pretty heart-shaped face.

Jayce thought it was odd that Helena was dressed as if she were going somewhere while Trevor was dressed as if he planned to lounge around the house. Travis was also dressed as if he was just going to spend the day around the house. The father and son were in t-shirts, sweat pants, and flip-flops. Helena was dressed in a knee-length black skirt and a cream-colored blouse with matching shoes.

“I was just telling Jayce how nice it is that a family moved next door, so Travis can have someone to play with,” Trevor commented.

“I like playing!” Octavia supplied with a grin, pointing to herself.

“Playing’s fun…” Travis agreed, sounding a little hesitant.

“Perhaps we can set up a play-date between you two after the neighbors get settled,” Helena told Travis.

Jayce was about to say that Travis could play with Octavia whenever he wanted, but decided against that. She did not want to impose her ways on their new neighbors. She just did not think that playing should be done by appointment.

“So, is it just the you three?” Helena asked curiously, eyes straying to Jayce’s left ring finger. There was a gold band with a huge diamond there, letting her know that it was not just the three of them.

“No, Gus is around here somewhere,” Jayce answered. She was about to elaborate on who Gus was, but did not need to. Gus came out of the house to see what was going on.

“Hey, baby, wait until you see the inside of your dream house,” Gus called and then she noticed her family with another family. She figured those were probably the neighbors, so she marched over to the scene to find out what was going on.

“Oh, here you are, Gus. We’ve been meeting our new neighbors, the Bradshaws,” Jayce commented as she felt Gus’ arm find its usual place around her waist.

Gus let loose a wide grin as she turned her attention to the Bradshaw family. “Hello there. I’m Augusta Tucker, but everyone calls me Gus,” she introduced herself, putting her hand out.

Trevor took her hand and shook it without a problem while introducing himself. Travis copied his father while Helena did not even bother shaking Gus’ hand. Instead, she regarded the new neighbors through squinting eyes and then looked them up and down. She then excused herself, claiming to have work to do in the house.

“Sorry about that,” Trevor apologized for his wife.

“No problem. At least you’re still here,” Jayce replied, doing her best to maintain her friendly smile.

“So, Gus,” Trevor said, turning his attention to the taller woman. “That’s amazing that you have both your kids named after you. I’ve only got the one clone and Helena refused to let him carry my name,” the blond stated, putting his hand on Travis’ shoulder.

Gus chuckled. “Wow, not many people pick up on the fact that little Octie is named after me,” she said, wrapping the child in a light embrace. “But, Little Caesar here is quite easy for most to pick up on,” she added, reaching out to caress the baby’s head. She could not help smiling at her son.

“Little Caesar? That’s quite the nickname,” Trevor said, laughing.

“In a house full of women, he’s pretty much the emperor. But then again, when his sister gets in a mood, she can be a little empress herself. So, I guess it works out that they both have royal names,” Gus replied.

“Look, I don’t want to keep you guys since I can see you got a lot going on,” he said, motioning to the moving men going in and out of the house. “How about you come over to my house for dinner tonight?” he offered.

“Sounds great, but are you sure Helena is going to feel comfortable with that?” Jayce inquired.

Trevor shrugged. “You got me there.”

“How about your come over to our house?” Gus proposed. “The place should resemble a house by tonight, but even if it doesn’t, we could have a nice little picnic in the living room. We’ll put a little movie on for the kiddies to keep them calm.”

“If it’s okay with you,” Trevor answered, glancing at Jayce.

“It’s no problem,” Jayce assured him. She smiled, happy that he thought to check with both of them.

“If you handle roughing it for the night, come by at about seven, okay?” Gus informed him.

“Sounds good. Come on, Travis, we should get back in and make sure your mom is okay,” Trevor said.

Travis nodded. “’Kay, Dad. Um…bye…” he said to Octavia, waving a bit.

“Bye! See ya later!” the little girl practically cheered. She waved until the two blonds were back in their home. She then turned her attention to her parents as they started toward their new home. “He was nice, Mommy!” she called, grinning as they went into the house.

“Yes, they both were,” Jayce agreed.

Jayce then forgot to breathe as they entered the house. She doubted that she had ever seen a grander sight, except maybe her childhood home. But, there was a key difference between the two. Here, she would be a part of a loving family, not like when she was a child where her mother hated her, her father tolerated her, and her big brother was the only comfort at the time. And because she could feel love in this house, it made it infinitely more impressive than her childhood home.

“Gus…” Jayce whispered once she found her voice.

“I know, lovely. Hold it in until later when we don’t have a million moving men coming in and out of the place,” Gus remarked with a smile.

“I’ll try…” Jayce replied. She had seen the house before, but there was something about the fact that they were moving in that touched her. She was moving in with her family into the home that would be their home for the rest of their lives. It was almost overwhelming.

“Hey, princess, why don’t we go up to your bed room and arrange things how you want it?” Gus suggested, speaking to Octavia.

“YES!” the child cried with glee, jumping up and down. She even clapped a couple of times.

Jayce smiled as she watched Gus and Octavia disappear upstairs. She knew that Gus would not be up there for long because the taller woman would have to boss around the moving men. It was just how Gus was.

“Well, Gus-Gus, let’s go look around the house and see if it is shaping up to be a house,” Jayce grinned, holding the baby firmly to her. She left his baby bag sitting by the front door.

Touring the house, Jayce was amazed once again and Augustus seemed to agree with her, cooing in awe whenever they entered a new room. Most of their things were packed away in boxes, but some things were out. The dining room had its dark, mahogany table sitting pretty and waiting for the chairs to join it. The television was already hanging on the living room wall; Gus had gone out and brought a giant TV and made sure it was set up to have something to keep Octavia occupied while they really fixed up her room. Bookshelves and a desk were already in the room that was going to be their home office. The beds were also in the bedrooms, having been delivered yesterday, along with mattresses.

“Do you see this beautiful house? Gus bought this for us. She bought this so we could have a nice big family house. This is the house you’re going to grow up in,” Jayce informed the baby while making her way into the kitchen. “This is the house I’m going to grow old in with your mother. This is the house that after you meet that special someone, you’ll bring your kids to, so they can visit with their grandmothers. Isn’t that cool?”

Augustus seemed to agree by smiling and clapping. Jayce looked around the kitchen; it was so much larger than the one at their old house. Well, more like Gus’ old house, which was how Jayce always looked at it. One of the many reasons Gus wanted to get a new home was because she knew that Jayce would never look at her ranch house as _their_ home. Jayce always saw that as Gus’ house because Gus had purchased the house for herself before she and Jayce were together. Gus bought that house, but _they_ bought this house together for _their_ family.

“Hey, be careful with that stuff!” Gus’ bark could be heard through out the whole house. Apparently, she was back on the job of commanding the moving men.

“Well, Gus-Gus, how about we go upstairs and see how your sister’s doing with her room?” Jayce moved to go see how the little girl was doing on her own while Gus stepped outside to rip into some guys manhandling their things.

They climbed the stairs and stepped over to the right. Octavia had chosen the room closest to the master bedroom, which did not surprise her parents. She had a fierce independent streak, but at the same time could not stand it when her parents were not close by.

“Baby, how’s going in here?” Jayce called to Octavia as she entered the room.

“Mommy, it’s so big! Look how big it is!” the child called, hopping up and down in the room.

“Yes, it is,” the mother replied. The room could probably fit two of Octavia’s old room in it. “How about I put Gus-Gus down in his chair for his nap and then I help you unpack more boxes?” she said. The room was full of boxes. It looked like Octavia was just rummaging through the few that were already opened and pulling out her things.

“Yay!”

Jayce had to enlist Gus to get the baby’s “chair.” It was actually a portal infant swing, but Octavia called it his chair, so the parents referred to it as the same. Gus brought the swing up while Jayce fed Augustus. By the time Gus had the swing set-up (with the “help” of their daughter), Augustus was clearly ready for his nap. After Jayce carefully placed him down on the soft, tan cushion, Octavia covered him with his favorite cars blanket. And Gus started the swing, putting the fifteen-minute timer on. He was asleep within seconds.

“Papa, guess what?” Octavia said, eagerly tugging on Gus’ shirt.

“What?” Gus answered with a giant smile.

“Mommy’s gonna helps me!” the child reported, jumping up and down again.

“Help with what?”

“The boxes!”

“The boxes?” Gus scratched her eyebrow with her pinkie. She could only guess what boxes their daughter was talking about considering the fact that the house was full of boxes.

“Yeah!”

Gus turned her attention to her wife. “Are you helping her unpack?” she guessed.

“I am. I figure at least one of us should be able to sleep comfortably in a complete room tonight. Besides, you know if we don’t start now, she won’t let us sleep because she’ll bug us the whole night about her room,” Jayce pointed out.

Gus nodded. “Right about that.” She turned her attention to Octavia. “Okay, little princess, make sure you’re quiet so you don’t wake up Caesar here and try not to climb into every box, okay?”

Octavia nodded with great enthusiasm. Gus left them alone to go deal with the moving men yet again. By the time she came back, Octavia’s room did resemble a room. Her hoard of dolls had been liberated and put in a neat and orderly stack in the corner. Her books were lined up on her small, white bookshelf, which was against the wall. By the window sat her tiny, round white table and two chairs for her little tea parties; Jayce usually attended those. A toy chest was against the wall by the nightstand, which had been moved in earlier.

Octavia herself was knocked out on her “princess” bed as she called. She was bit hard to find on the full-sized canopy bed since it was covered in pillows and blankets that she did not need, but were probably packed away in a box she opened. She was curled up in a little ball wearing a t-shirt that belonged to Jayce.

“Well, Jay, this is one room down,” Gus said with a smile, speaking to her wife, who was hanging clothes in their daughter’s closet. “And two kids. You, woman, have the magic touch,” she added with a chuckle. Augustus was still asleep in his swing, which was now sitting on Octavia’s tea party table.

“So you always say,” Jayce purred, giving her spouse a seductive wink.

Gus shook a reprimanding finger at her wife. “None of that, missy. No seducing me when we have so much to do. We’ve still got a couple of hours to go before the neighbors show up for dinner. Do you want me to call for take-out or do you think you can work your magic in our new kitchen?”

“I’d really love to cook our first night here. I’d like to look back on this day and just remember we had a nice, home-cooked meal our first day in our beautiful new home,” Jayce answered with an enchanted look on her face.

Gus could not help smiling because of her wife’s expression. “I like the sound of that! I found the box with the dishes we kept, so we can serve off of those until we go out for new stuff. You know our friends are going to be calling us for the rest of the month bitching about how we didn’t let them buy anything for the new house too.”

“Sorry, but I told them, I want this to be our house with everything important coming from us. As soon as we’re done, they can spend to their little hearts’ content. Or they can hold onto their money and save it for Little Caesar’s first birthday party,” Jayce replied and then she turned to her spouse with delight in her eyes. “Imagine that, baby! We’ve got this huge backyard for the party and everything!” The old house did have a moderate sized backyard, but it was nothing like the new house’s yard where they could fit a whole host of people.

Gus chuckled. “I think we might need to use the basement for the party. The curse of having winter babies,” she pointed out.

“I still like it, though!” Jayce bounced on her heels. Sometimes, it was easy to think that Octavia’s behavior was inherited. 

“I can see where our little princess gets her energy from. Calm down, Jay. Let’s focus on getting settled in here. As soon as we’re settled, we’ll have a nice big barbeque in the backyard and if they’re nice, we’ll let our friends come.”

Gus smiled and grabbed the shorter woman into a hug, which was immediately returned. She gave Jayce a chaste kiss on the lips. Jayce sighed contently and snuggled into the businesswoman.

“Okay, okay. Let’s worry about just dinner for tonight. I need to go to the store!” Jayce realized.

“That you do because we don’t even have an ice cube in the fridge,” Gus agreed with a laugh.

“Okay, I’ll go. If the baby gets hungry, he has bottles in the fridge. I’ll be back as quickly as I can,” Jayce said, practically running out of the door.

Gus laughed again and decided to get the house looking somewhat presentable for then their neighbors arrived while their children were asleep. When Octavia woke up from her nap, she helped Gus as best she could. When Augustus woke up, he was just brought downstairs, but left in his swing. Gus moved the swing from the reclined position to the sitting position because the baby loved seeing what was going on. He watched his mother and sister bustled around the house.

Of course, Octavia abandoned Gus as soon as her mommy showed up. Octavia went to help in the kitchen, which Gus expected. Octavia loved being in the kitchen with her mommy, which Gus thought was adorable and also a great life lesson. Gus herself had never learned to cook and still could not pull it off well. If Jayce ever left her, she would be condemned to a lifetime of fast food again.

“Be careful,” Jayce cautioned Octavia, who was just standing on a stool and watching her mother work.

“I’m okay, Mommy,” the little girl answered with her usual bright smile.

By the time the bell rang signaling that their guests had arrived, Gus felt that the house looked good enough and Jayce was almost done with their meal. Gus grabbed Augustus and went to answer the door. Trevor and Travis smiled as Gus invited them in.

“Where’s the missus?” Gus asked curiously as the two males entered the house. She closed the door behind them.

“Work, work, work. Helena’s a slave for her office,” Trevor replied with a lighthearted shrug. “Not that I should judge her since I get to work from home. We brought dessert,” he said, holding up a plastic container that clearly held a cake.

“Well, I never argue with a man holding a cake. Glad you brought that since Jay didn’t have time to make something herself, but you know you didn’t have to bring it,” Gus pointed out.

“I knew you were going to say that, but I think most people feel better about showing up to a new friend’s house with something rather than nothing,” Trevor countered.

“You brought this guy, so that’s enough,” Gus remarked, looking down at Travis. “Hey, if you go in the living room, there’s a giant TV with cartoons already playing on it and Octie is waiting for you to hang out.” She pointed him in the direction that he needed to go on.

Travis nodded and ran off. The two adults could hear Octavia greet her new friend with a joyous shout. They laughed and then turned their attention back to each other. Gus motioned for Trevor to follow her, so he could put the cake down.

“Hello again, Trevor,” Jayce greeted their guest, smiling as she moved around the kitchen. Later on, she was going to have to let Gus know in detail just how much she loved the kitchen.

“Hey, Jayce, I come bearing a cake,” he replied, holding up his bounty.

“Thank you so much. You can leave it on the counter. We’re going to be having baked ziti. Is that all right with you?” she asked politely.

“Sounds and smells good to me!” Trevor announced, patting his flat belly.

Dinner was served a few minutes later. They decided to eat in the living room since the dining room was not ready for company just yet. Octavia and Travis were glad to hear that they were having a “picnic” in the living room, but disappointed to know that the television would be turned off while they ate.

“Can I have chocolate milk?” Octavia requested with a bright smile.

“Chocolate milk with ziti? It might upset your tummy,” Gus said, rubbing the aforementioned body part. Octavia giggled and pushed the large hand away.

“May I have it too?” Travis requested with a twinkle in his deep green eyes.

“Do you mind?” Jayce asked Trevor, who shrugged. 

So, the children had chocolate milk while the adults had iced tea. Gus explained that they did not have wine in the house because they did not drink, just in case Trevor was expecting alcohol at any point during the night. He was not put off by that and quite happy with the iced tea.

“Oh, my god! This is delicious!” Trevor proclaimed as he ate his first bite. “You even baked vegetables in it!”

“My two girls eat veggies best when they’re covered in cheese, especially broccoli. It’s even better when there’s enough to cover up the fact that they’re eating veggies,” Jayce explained.

“I guess the same could be said of Travis,” he commented, watching his son eat the ziti without complaining about the vegetables at all. “You have to tell me how you make it because anything that makes him eat veggies a god-send to me.”

Jayce chuckled. “Sure, I’ll tell you.”

Once everyone had a beverage and toasted, buttered bread to go with their ziti, conversation filled the air along with sounds of enjoyed eating. The children were locked in their own conversation, which the adults had some trouble following because it bounced around without rhyme or reason to it. The adults ended up conversing mostly to each other once they conceded it was pointless to try to follow the kids.

Upon talking, Gus and Jayce learned basic information about Trevor and he learned the same of them. Gus proudly spoke out her businesses, more her software company than her spa. Her software company, which made educational items for children, was her first child pretty much. Trevor smiled as he found out about the company because he had purchased several things from it for Travis. Travis seemed to like the math games the best.

Trevor was kind of a stay-at-home dad, but he worked. He wrote self-help books. He actually seemed a bit ashamed of it and considered himself a hack. He admitted that after a while, he just started repeating things in his books whenever his publisher was on his back, but people still bought them. He quickly backed that up by saying that he had a masters’ degree in psychology and was not just pulling his advice and methods out of his ass. He loved the job for the time it allowed him to spend with Travis, especially since Helena’s job was so demanding and she did not have much free time.

Jayce related to him. She was an accountant, able to work from home most of the time. She had been hired by an accounting firm last year—after a three year absent from an office—and worked out a very good schedule for herself. She did not have to go into the office more than a couple of times a week. She supposed it helped that she brought in a lot of clients, including her wife. But, working at home gave her time with the children and they did not have to worry about trustworthy babysitters or expensive daycare. Plus, Jayce loved being around them.

“Papa, cake now?” Octavia requested, holding up her empty plate, so it was clear that she was done.

“How do you even know there’s cake, munchkin?” Gus inquired, smiling at her daughter and petting her on the head.

“Travis said so!” she answered. 

“We boughts it!” Travis added in proudly, pointing to himself and his father. Apparently, just a little time with Octavia and he was not so shy anymore.

“So, cake, Papa?” the little girl requested once more, dark eyes pleading with Gus.

The businesswoman sighed and turned to Jayce. “They are finished,” she pointed out.

“I’ll get them some cake,” Jayce conceded, slowly standing up to go to the kitchen.

“Oh, and then I could show Travis my room, please, Papa?” Octavia pleaded, clasping her hands together like a tiny beggar.

“I don’t see a problem with that, but you may want to ask Travis before you just pull him along somewhere,” Gus remarked with a smile.

“Oh, yeah!” Octavia then turned to her new friend, wanting to know if he would like to come and see her room. He agreed.

“I actually should’ve practiced saying no to that for when it comes up again in about twelve years,” Gus quipped, earning a chuckle from Trevor.

“Well, that’s a missed opportunity,” the writer replied.

“If we’re going to be neighbors for a while, I’m sure it’ll come up again. Princess has taken a liking to your boy,” Gus said and supported that by motioning to the children, who were lost in their own conversation again.

Jayce returned with cake for everyone. The children had small slices, but they did not complain. As soon as the children were done, Octavia picked up her plate and urged Travis to do the same. She led him into the kitchen to put their plates in the sink and then she pulled him upstairs to see her room.

“I don’t think Travis knows what he just got into,” Gus commented with a laugh.

“I just want you to know, I expect a huge dowry from Octavia,” Trevor joked.

“First of all, to get her out of the house, you have to kill Jay because she’s not letting that little girl out of her sight. They’re already enrolled in all the same classes from kindergarten until graduate school,” the businesswoman stated. “In fact, Jay, haven’t you already picked out who our princess will be marrying?”

Jayce stuck her tongue out at her spouse. “That would be you, Miss Paranoid. There’s a reason you got the title of ‘papa.’”

Gus shrugged. “Ah, you got me there.”

“Why does she call you papa?” Trevor inquired curiously. “I’m sorry, I don’t know any lesbian couples. Is that normal?”

“Normal for Octavia, yes,” Gus said. “It’s a bit complex as to how I became ‘papa.’ She calls me papa because we used to have her in this daycare program. She didn’t go often, but we wanted her to interact with other children and she noticed that most of them with two parents had a mother and a father. A mommy and a daddy or a mama and a papa. Well, Jay was already mommy, so I had to be something else.”

“But, why not daddy then?” Trevor asked. “Oh, I hope I’m not getting too personal or anything.”

“Not at all,” Gus assured him. “I think she went with papa because one of her favorite stories the main character calls her father ‘papa’ instead of ‘daddy.’ In fact, in a lot of stories the word ‘papa’ gets used instead of daddy. Before that, she used to just call me Gus, but I much prefer being a papa.” Her grin attested to that fact.

“Now, he’s Gus,” Jayce said, rubbing the baby’s back. She was now holding him because she was going to have to go feed him in a couple of minutes.

“She can’t say Augustus yet without tripping over her own tongue,” Gus added, referring to Octavia.

“I’m surprised she can even say her own name. How many people have the name Octavia, after all?” he chuckled.

“She likes her name. Jay taught her how to spell it not too long ago and that’s all she did for like a month. She would spell it for any and everybody. Of course, this has the drawbacks of fooling people into thinking she can spell. Big mistake,” Gus said, laughing somewhat too.

“People were asking her to spell words she never even heard of, which would lead her back to me and asking me to teach her how to spell it. Before long, she didn’t even know who she was,” Jayce remarked with a dramatic sigh.

“Well, I know not to make that mistake. She’d be a pretty advanced four-year-old if she could spell, though. What about this guy? How old is?” Trevor asked, tugging at Augustus’ sock and getting a drooling grin out of him.

“He’s only six months, but don’t tell him that. He’s been trying to walk ever since he crawled out of my womb and hasn’t gotten close yet,” Jayce replied.

“Oddly enough, he doesn’t try anything else. He refuses to try holding a bottle or to sit up on his own or make a sound beyond crying and laughing or do anything that even hints that he’s going to stop being a baby one day in the distant future. I’m sure this is one kid that’ll still be living here when he’s thirty,” Gus teased the infant. “Little does he know, but as soon as he can get a paper route, I’m taking his room and turning it into a pool hall.”

Jayce smiled and shook her head. “Don’t mind Gus. She’s been saying things like that ever since he was born, even though she knows she’s going to break down and cry the second he has to leave for college or a job or whatever years from now.”

“Are you kidding? Little man is going to be on his own the second I hear a word out of him. Soon as he says something that I mistake for a word in any language, he’s packed up and out of here,” Gus joked.

Trevor laughed, which earned a big smile from Gus and an amused head shake from Jayce. The three spoke for a little longer before Trevor decided it was time for him and Travis to go. The whole Tucker family saw them to the door with Octavia shouting her farewells the loudest, mostly to Travis as expected. When the door closed, she turned her attention to her parents.

“Travis is nice!” Octavia declared.

“I’m sure he is, princess. Now, it’s time for all little princess to get ready for bed. Let’s go run you a bath and then I’ll read you a good story, okay?” Gus offered.

“Yeah!” Octavia ran for upstairs with Gus following closely behind her. 

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce yawned as she fell face first into king-sized bed. She was thankful that Gus had taken time after Octavia fell asleep to put sheets and pillows on the bed. They were new, so they did not have the sweet lavender smell that clung to Gus as if she produced the aroma naturally.

“All in due time,” Jayce muttered, hugging a pillow to her head.

“How dare you fall into our new bed wearing …” Gus paused to release a dramatic shudder. “… pajamas,” she finished, falling into bed and spooning her wife from behind.

“Feels like you have on pajamas too,” Jayce commented. Her pajamas were little more than a torn up old t-shirt that used to belong to Gus.

“Just the usual.” Gus’ pajamas were a tank-top and flannel boxer shorts.

“Well, I’m wearing the usual too, so you shouldn’t complain. If I thought we had a chance of making it through the night with nothing happening, I might have dressed differently, but I don’t think we’re going to make it.”

“Hey, Octie might surprise you,” Gus argued, pulling the sheet over them while making sure to stay close to Jayce’s body.

“Maybe in a week, but not the first night in a new house.”

“Her excitement might help her sleep through the night. She was so full of energy and zipping around. She’s probably worn out,” the taller woman reasoned.

“You might be right. We’ll see.” A soft sigh escaped Jayce. “Thank you again for this, baby. You’re the best.”

“I prefer to think of you being the best. You’ve given me everything I ever wanted and now I want to do the same for you.”

Jayce squeezed Gus’ hand. “You do, sweetheart. After all, you gave me a loving family. And you might have possibly gotten my mother off my back with this move.”

Gus scoffed. “I hope so. I’m sick of hearing her voice bitch about taking ‘Princess’ back. Although I still get a kick out of remembering her face when you told her that you changed Octie’s name.”

“She deserves a proper name after someone that loves her. My idiot mother refuses to accept that Q named her after his dog. What kind of asshole names a baby after a dog?”

Gus kissed behind her wife’s ear and stroked her soft hair briefly. “Hey, don’t get worked up. Remember, it was thanks to your brother that we’re her parents.”

“I never thought he would give up his rights to her. But, then again, he was out of his mind, wanting all that money for a fix. I feel guilty for giving into him, but she needed us.”

“We did the right thing. You still have faith that Q might turn it all around someday when he’s ready. Keep that faith. Now, stop worrying about it and let’s get some sleep. We’ve got a lot to do tomorrow. So many boxes,” Gus sighed, snuggling closer to her wife.

Jayce nodded and tried to clear her mind of past annoyances. Her mother had been a thorn in her side pretty much from the day she was born, but certainly ever since she came out of the closet over ten years ago. Her mother—Marion Newton—had been making her life Hell, but even more so since she gained custody of her brother’s daughter three years ago.

Octavia Tucker used to be Princess Newton and the fact that she was in Jayce’s care had always ate at Marion. It only got worse when Marion found out that Jayce was in a stable relationship with Gus and they were raising Princess together. Marion harassed them at every turn, especially after they changed Princess’ name. Jayce thought her mother might have a heart attack when she found out that Quentin relinquished parental rights to the girl and Jayce was able to legally adopt her.

Octavia herself could not remember ever being called “princess” unless it was one of her mothers’ nicknames for her. She also could not remember a time before Jayce was her mommy and Gus was her papa. Jayce was happy for that because Octavia had a hell of a first year of life. Sometimes, she wondered how Octavia even survived that first year.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, Jayce felt a small body collapse on top of her and Gus. Smiling to herself, she moved away from Gus, allowing Octavia to settle in between both of them. It was a routine that they all knew, so no one said anything as the little girl pulled her mothers’ arms over her to make sure they were both close by.

Jayce knew within seconds both Octavia and Gus were back to sleep. She sat up a little, looking over at the crib a couple of feet away. Everything was quiet over there. With that, Jayce was able to relax and drift into a peaceful sleep. 

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the Tucker family enjoys their new house and they learn more about their neighbors Trevor and Travis.


	2. Recreation

2: Recreation

Gus woke up with familiar weight on her chest. Octavia, she knew. Moving her hand, she rubbed the child’s back while noting that their little princess seemed a bit heavier than usual. That brought a smile to her face because Octavia was such a tiny child. She and Jayce had been spending the last three years trying to undo the damage Quentin Newton had done to the little girl. She liked to think they were doing a good job.

There was no real evidence left over that Octavia had clung to life her first year except for her small stature. She used to be very sickly, but that was in the past. Now, she was a ball of energy … and a strange sleeper. 

Parents that worked with her assured Gus that it was not unusual for a small child to take up a bed. Octavia certainly did that. Through out the night, she might start out in the middle of her parents, but she worked her way all over the bed at night. It was not weird to wake up and find Octavia sleeping across the pillows and on their heads or find her feet tucked under their chins.

Hazel eyes flickered open, seeing the tangle of ebony locks that belonged to Octavia. Glancing over to her right, she saw that Jayce was gone. Taking a long sniff, she could smell what Jayce was up to.

“Oh, breakfast our first morning in the new house,” Gus smiled. Glancing down at the dead weight on her torso, she considered easing Octavia off of her and just letting her sleep. “No, she’ll want to be up and running around in the backyard or something.”

With that decided, she shook Octavia, who whined a bit in complaint. The whining got her nowhere as Gus continued to shake the girl and rub her back, waking her little by little. Octavia whined more, but her eyes opened up. 

“Come on, munchkin, Mommy made breakfast,” Gus informed the child.

“Breakfast? I wan’ pancakes!” Octavia cheered.

“I don’t know if it’s pancakes, but come on, let’s get ready, so we can see what it is.”

Octavia nodded in agreement. “Getting ready” before breakfast consisted of washing their faces, brushing their teeth, and Gus did Octavia’s hair. Everything else would be done after breakfast. Gus used to get ready first, but Augustus liked to throw whatever he could get his hands on, which included food, and she would have to change or do her hair again. It was never fun.

After carefully combing and brushing Octavia’s soft hair, Gus put in three simple twists. She made sure to put in the girl’s favorite ties and barrettes. As soon as she finished, Octavia ran off, not knowing if her hair was done or not. She just wanted to see if there were pancakes waiting.

“Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!” Octavia chanted as she charged down the stairs and went into the kitchen. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw the stake. “Pancakes!”

“I take it we have pancakes,” Gus commented with a smile as she came in right behind their daughter.

“I thought you’d both like your favorite breakfast as our first breakfast in our new home,” Jayce replied with a bright smile as she flipped the latest flapjack. “I didn’t know if you guys wanted to sit in the dining room or not, though,” she added.

“Let’s eat in the dining room for now. I think we should get some stools or tall chairs to eat around the island, eventually. The dining room table seems like its too big right now for us,” Gus commented, walking over to her wife. She gave Jayce a tight embrace, earning her a quick kiss before Jayce had to turn her attention back to the pancake.

“Agreed. Okay, you move the plates in there while I finish this up,” Jayce instructed her spouse.

Gus nodded, but before she started her tasks, she went to greet their son. Augustus was on a blanket on the floor at the far end of the kitchen, away from everything. His favorite toys were there to keep him company, even though he only seemed interested in lying on his stomach with his arms spread as far apart as possible and his little, chubby legs bent at the knees, so that his feet were in the air. It looked like he was trying to fly or something.

“Something ain’t right with you, little Caesar,” Gus chuckled as she picked him up and kissed his fat cheek. “I love you, anyway, little man,” she whispered.

He grinned at her and did not stop, even when she put him down. She would have kept him, but he liked touching food that was not his and she was not going to let him put his grubby, drool-covered little mitts on her pancakes! She grabbed the plate that had the pancakes on it as Jayce slid the last hotcake onto it. Gus then grabbed another plate with fluffy scrambled eggs on it.

Octavia, wanting to help, grabbed the plate of sausages, making sure to hold it with both hands. She had had mistakes with that in the past, dropping several plates and food, but had learned from them. Easing the plate onto the table next to the pancakes and eggs, she grinned up at her ‘papa’ for acknowledgement of her good job.

“Way to go, munchkin! You carried it without dropping any of them,” Gus said, petting the top of the girl’s head.

Gus helped Octavia into a chair as Jayce came in with empty plates and glasses. Gus went back into the kitchen to grab the baby and some juice. Since they did not have Augustus’ highchair unpacked yet, he had to go in his swing, which he was fine with. By the time she was done with him, Jayce had already made her plate for her. She had a nice stack of four pancakes, four pieces of sausage, and a saucer with her eggs because she hated when syrup touched her eggs.

“Oh, these are cim’mona!” Octavia giggled as she took her first bite of pancake.

“Cinnamon, baby,” Gus gently corrected the child.

“An’ cheese!” Octavia said, eating some eggs.

The parents chuckled at Octavia’s youthful enthusiasm and started in on their own meals. While they ate, Gus wanted to know what Jayce had planned for the day. The accountant figured that she would tire Octavia out by unpacking and then she would get some work done while the girl napped. Gus laughed at the game plan, not too sure it was going to be successful if Octavia noticed their backyard first.

“Let me worry about the kids. You just get to work and continue to be a business genius,” Jayce joked as she cleared the table from their finished meal. Octavia joined in, eager to help in any way she could.

“Genius am I? Keep talking like that and I might show up here with flowers tonight,” Gus said.

A skeptical snort was followed by, “Get going, you.”

Gus chuckled, but did as ordered. She went to get ready for work and was then sent on her way with hugs from her family. As soon as she was gone, Jayce turned to Octavia and proposed that they unpack.

“Your papa would like to come home to a nice, clean house, right?” Jayce said to the child.

“Yeah, let’s do it for Papa!” Octavia cheered, throwing her hands up.

Jayce knew that would get the little girl going. They moved their operations into the living room. Augustus was placed on a blanket and given a cookie to gum, which would keep him occupied for a while. With the baby secure, the other pair got to work.

The work was interrupted for a moment by the doorbell ringing. Jayce went to see and was not surprised that Trevor and Travis were on the porch. There were smiles all round.

“We’ve come to volunteer our services to help you guys unpack,” Trevor explained with friendly sincerity.

“Is it really this boring at your house?” Jayce teased.

“More so. We were counting carpet fibers before Travis thought about how our neighbors house is full of nice girls and good food,” Trevor joked.

“You must have us mistaken for another house. We don’t have any food and only brats,” Jayce replied.

Trevor chuckled. “Well, we like brats just the same. But, seriously, do you need any help? We’ve got nothing better to do.”

“How do I resist and offer like that?” Jayce asked with a laugh.

Trevor chuckled again before releasing Travis into the house. The little boy easily found Octavia clearing out a box. She cheered when she saw him and pulled him into a familiar hug; obviously, she believed they were the best of friends. Their parents laughed at the sight, especially since Travis looked so confused about what was going on.

“You put the girl to work? Slave labor at four,” Trevor commented with a laugh.

“Nah, she’s not even working. I left her to unpack our photo albums. It’s a complete distraction for her,” Jayce explained, going back to her own box.

“Loves pictures of herself?”

“She loves pictures in general. And now that Travis is here, she’ll have to point out everyone she knows and tell him nonsense stories about them. I hope to God he’s interested or you’ll have to arrest us for human rights violations,” she quipped.

Trevor laughed. “Nice,” he hummed.

The adults worked for a while, checking on the kids every few of minutes. Just as Jayce predicted, Octavia was going through a photo album with Travis and pointing out all the people she knew along with telling stories. He seemed pretty interested, like he had never heard such things before.

“He’s really into her story,” Jayce noted.

“He is. I think he’s really happy someone his age is talking to him,” Trevor commented.

“Are there really no kids around here?”

“They’re older kids, like nine and ten. I tried letting him play with them, but they tease and bully him because he’s so much younger. I think that’s why he’s so shy now. He doesn’t trust new people thanks to those kids.”

Jayce glanced over at Travis, his cute, cherubic, smiling face as he listened to Octavia prattle on. “That’s horrible. He’s such a little sweetheart. I hope he and Octavia remain friends then. She’s obviously excited about him.”

Trevor nodded. “I’m glad you guys moved in. You seem like really nice people. Travis talked about Octavia the whole night when I tried to put him to bed. He wants her to come over and see his room too.”

“I might take you up on that one day soon. I love her and all, but I appreciate when she naps too,” Jayce remarked.

“I think all parents like that,” he said and then he looked at Octavia, whose hands were flying as she used them to help her in her story. “Although with her, I can totally understand it. How do you keep up with that much energy?” 

“I only have to last for a few hours before Gus takes over and then they’re both all over the board. Gus has more energy than anyone I’ve ever met.”

A nod. “How long have you been together?”

“Three years. Three wonderful years.”

Trevor nodded and then glanced over at Octavia again. “Um … forgive me for asking this, especially if it’s out of line, but who did the little princess belong to originally, then? I hope that’s not too personal!” His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

“No, it’s fine. What makes you ask, though?”

“Well, you said Octavia is four, so she was alive before you and Gus got together. Did Gus have her? Is that how she managed to get two babies named after her?” he inquired with a light laugh.

“Oh, no. Octie was my niece. My brother was in no way ready to take care of a child and her mother died days after she was born. I took care of her first and then Gus came along. Gus and I both adopted her, so now she’s ours.”

“That’s really great. So, when did you two tie the knot? To me three years seem like a short time because me and Helena waited forever to get married.”

“We’ve been married for a year and a half. What about you and Helena?”

“We’ve been together forever a day. It’s been over twelve years now. I met her when I was a freshman in college, she was a sophomore. She made it clear that she didn’t want to get married until she was done with school. So, we waited five years, undergrad and grad school. After that, she was in a rush to get married because she didn’t want be working when we had our honeymoon. I actually proposed to her two years after being together, but like I said, I had to wait three more before she was ready. Who proposed between you and Gus? I get the feeling it was her,” he said.

Jayce smiled and laughed. “It was her. Gus knows what she wants and she goes after it. Sometimes, sooner than others. She proposed to me six months after we started dating. She was nervous about it, so she bungled it a little.”

“I bungled it a lot. Helena laughed so much I thought she was going to break up with me. You know, she’s a very serious person, so when she started laughing, I was sure it was all over,” Trevor said, shaking his head.

“Well, I can see it didn’t end how you thought it would.”

Trevor made an exaggerated move of wiping sweat from his brow and sighing. “Thank goodness for that. She’s not a bad person, just serious and goal-oriented. We’re really opposites on a lot of things, but I love her.”

“Me and Gus aren’t like that. We’re really similar. We like the same things mostly and want many of the same things,” Jayce said, warmth in her eyes and in her voice. She glanced around the house and to the children. Yes, she and Gus wanted a lot of the same things.

Trevor noticed her eyes stray to the children. “Do you think you’ll have anymore kids?”

“I think we’re at our limit. Two seems like enough for now, but who knows what might happen years from now. We’ll have to get more creative on the names, though,” Jayce quipped with a giggle. “What about you?”

“I’d like another one, but I have to wait for Helena. It wouldn’t be fair to her. She’s already so stressed about her career. While she’s a strong woman, I don’t want to test that by telling her we should have another child just yet. When she’s ready, she’ll tell me.”

Jayce smiled. “You’re a great guy. Trevor.”

He blushed and laughed. “I do my best!”

-8-8-8-8-

Gus entered the house to the sound of laughter. She did not have time to focus on it as Octavia charged out of nowhere and collided with her. Gus laughed as she returned the child’s strong embrace. 

“Papa!” Octavia smiled as if she had not seen Gus in years.

“Baby!” Gus replied with similar enthusiasm, pulling the child up, so Octavia could wrap her little arms around Gus’ neck.

“I helped’ed Mommy!”

“I can’t wait to see this,” Gus said, strolling toward the living room. She noticed Travis poking his head out of the room, obviously looking for Octavia to come back. Gus guessed the laughter was from her wife and neighbor. “Hey, I think you lost this,” the businesswoman remarked as she came into the living room.

“Please, keep it. It’s had too much sugar,” Jayce joked. She was pulling out movies from one of the boxes and stacking them by the TV stand.

“Who gave it sugar?” Gus looked between Octavia and Travis, thinking they might have sneaked it while the adults were busy with unpacking.

“The guy I once thought was great,” Jayce commented, cutting Trevor a mock-glare.

“I didn’t know she could get worse from a simple pixie stick!” Trevor argued.

“You gave Oh-Hyper-One here a stick of pure dyed sugar and didn’t think it would be that bad?” Gus shook her head. “Just when I was growing to like you,” she teased, smiling as she spoke.

Trevor had no defense. He helped a little bit more with the unpacking before he and Travis had to get home because Helena was going to be there soon; they liked to greet her. Goodbyes were said and Octavia begged for Travis to come back later. Trevor promised his son would be back tomorrow. Minutes after Travis left, Octavia fell asleep, having missed her nap because she was up with Travis.

“Now, if only he would go to sleep,” Jayce commented, holding the baby and rubbing his back.

“Has he eaten?” Gus asked curiously, even though she knew her spouse was on top of things like that. She sat down on the floor with Jayce and the baby. “We need to get some sofas before my back gives out,” she grumbled.

“You’re the one that thought getting a new TV was more important than getting a couch,” the younger woman pointed out with a laugh.

“Oh, I still believe that. Imagine the princess without a few thirty minute distractions,” Gus said and Jayce groaned. The businesswoman nodded. “Exactly. We’ll go shopping for couches this weekend. Okay?”

“Sounds good. It’ll give Octie something else to jump on.”

Gus laughed. “I’ll throttle her if she starts jumping on the sofa again. Sometimes, I swear it’s like we haven’t taught her anything.”

“You know, when she’s with Travis, you can really see the lessons come through. She shared everything with him today. She counted to make sure they got the same amount of cookies, she told me which mugs to give them so they had the same amount of juice. She was happy to let him use her favorite cup. She promised to show him all of her movies when he came back.”

“She’s so happy to have a friend. She’s never been like this before.”

“Well, everyone she went to daycare went was already there for seven or eight hours. They were used to each other while she was there for just a few of hours and only once or twice a week. But, she did used to have that thing with sharing the toys and making sure everyone got turns with really good ones when she was there. She’s a good girl.”

The taller woman nodded. “I know. How long were Travis and Trevor here?”

“Almost all day. Of course, our princess loved it. I let her go through the photo albums and she talked Travis’ ear for the whole day. Trevor helped me with the boxes. We didn’t get too far because Trevor talked me ear off the whole time.”

Gus laughed. “Guess Travis wasn’t the only one that could use a friend.”

“I suppose. It’s too early to say if that’s true,” Jayce replied, moving to curl up next to Gus. Long arms quickly engulfed her and pressed her into the strong, firm body of her spouse.

“Well, it’s that or he’s got a crush on you,” Gus teased.

“Oh, yeah, he seemed like he was getting really hot when I excused myself to feed your clone.”

“It’s good to know I’m not the only one that likes it then!”

A giggle escaped Jayce. “You like it because you’re a perv. Now, are you going to help me finish unpacking what we can? We might be able to make our bedroom look like a room before our little hurricane wakes up.”

“Geez, woman, I’ve only just come in from the office and you’re already trying to put me to work!”

Jayce tapped her partner on the thigh. “I’m such a slave driver.”

Gus laughed and they did not move. Eventually, they did get up to continue working on the house. Augustus went back to his swing and Octavia woke up, volunteering her services to her parents. They left the photo albums to her again.

-8-8-8-8-

“Mommy!” Octavia called as she came charging into the house. Jayce could hear her feet pounding on the tile of the hallway; they knew better than to have carpet with their little whirlwind around.

 

“Yes, baby?” Jayce said, turning her attention away from her laptop. She had been sitting in the front room with her laptop, glancing outside every now and then to check on her daughter. Her daughter, who was supposed to stay outside and run through the sprinklers with Travis, but was now bouncing in front of her.

“I wanna go to park with Travis! Can I?” Octavia inquired.

“And how is Travis getting to the park?”

“His dad gonna take him and me if I can go.”

“Hmm…” Jayce thought on it. They had only been neighbors for a few days, so she was not too sure if she was ready to trust Trevor out of sight with one of her most important treasures. “You can go.”

“Yay!”

“And I’m going to go too.”

That time she leaped in the air. “YAY!”

“Go tell Mr. Trevor I’m going to come, but first I have to find your brother’s stroller.”

“Okay, Mommy!”

As Octavia charged off in her usual energetic fashion, Jayce logged off the computer. She then had a task ahead of her in trying to locate the baby stroller. _Why did we pack that up? Oh, because usually we take turns holding the baby if we go out_.

“Mommy! C’mon! I wanna goes to the park!” Octavia said, coming back into the house.

“Hey, princess, what does Papa say about whining?” Jayce gently scolded the child.

Onyx eyes went wide as a chubby caramel-face fell into a pout. “Whining does not good. Doesn’t help ever,” she repeated the reprimand as best she could remember it. She was not sure what it meant, but she knew that her papa disliked whining. “Sorry, Mommy. Why we not leaving, though?” the little girl inquired.

“I’m trying to find your brother’s stroller. Have you seen it?” Jayce asked, checking in one of the closets.

Octavia nodded and bolted off. Seconds later, Jayce could hear the child grunting and groaning, so she went to see what the problem was. Octavia was on the floor in the spare room, her feet poking out of a box.

“Baby, what happened?” the accountant asked, falling to the girl’s side and helping her up.

“I gots it!” Octavia was trying her best to haul out the large stroller.

Jayce giggled. “I’ve got it. Now we can go.”

Once the stroller was up, Augustus was placed in it, as was his baby bag, and they were off. Octavia took it upon herself to grab the baby bag, which was always full of everything Augustus would need for a day out…along with some things that Octavia would need. Jayce smiled an apology to Trevor for taking so long.

“It’s no problem. Glad you decided to join us. I can give you a little tour of the neighborhood while we’re out,” the writer volunteered.

“Oh, sounds good,” Jayce concurred.

“No, park!” Octavia objected, thinking that “tour” translated into “not going to the park.”

“We’re going, baby. Calm down,” Jayce assured the child.

The group set off, walking a few blocks down before they came to a huge park. Jayce remembered driving past it on her way to the supermarket and was now glad for the excuse to bring both of her children. As soon as they entered the area, Octavia spotted the playground and pulled Travis toward it. Travis let out a yelp as he was yanked away.

“That poor boy doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into,” Jayce remarked with a laugh.

“This might be a sign. He might take after his father and like bossy women,” Trevor declared proudly.

“Well, I hope Octavia treats him properly,” Jayce said, still laughing. They walked over to a bench next to the playground area. Jayce freed Augustus from the stroller and sat him in her lap, so that he could enjoy the nice weather too.

“I think she will. You have a great little girl there,” Trevor said, smiling brightly at his new friend.

“Thank you. Travis isn’t half bad himself.”

Trevor chuckled. The pair got into an easy conversation while keeping track of their children. Jayce noticed that they were getting a lot of looks from the other adults around the area. She asked Trevor if he noticed it too.

“Everyone in our neighborhood uses this park. So, they’re all familiar with each other and you know people love to gossip,” he explained.

“They’re wondering who I am and why you’re with me?” Jayce guessed.

“More than likely. Give it ten minutes before the most curious cat comes crawling over here to make fake pleasantries with us to figure out who you are. At least one person is going to ‘accidentally’ mention to Helena that I might be having an affair because I’m in the park with you while she’s at work,” he assumed.

“That’s horrible.”

Trevor snorted. “A lot of people out at this time have too much time on their hands. They don’t have jobs to fulfill them and obviously it would be asking too much for them to put more energy toward their kids, so they gossip and make up stories to entertain each other and try to ruin people’s lives. But, not everyone is like that. Like all places, you shuffle through the crap and you find something worth hanging on to.”

Jayce nodded. “Well, I hope there are a few more of you and Travis out there then.”

“I’m sure there is. You and Gus need to get ready for being the story of the month, though. I think you’re the first lesbian family around these parts.”

“No? Really?” Jayce could not believe it.

“Really. One of the reasons I don’t know much about lesbians is because there’s none around here for me to meet. I’m pretty familiar with everyone. I got a lot of time on my hands,” he chuckled.

“Working at home does that to you.”

“You knew everyone in your old neighborhood even with two kids?” He seemed skeptical.

Jayce laughed. “That’s when I made it a point! I knew that a newborn was work and my little princess—bless her heart—was already a challenge. I made sure to know everyone in case I needed a babysitter or in case someone would offer to go to the store for me while I stayed with the kids or in case I needed to borrow something. Friends are big ‘in case of’ boxes as far as I’m concerned,” she joked.

Trevor laughed, “Nice to know you’ve already put me in a box!”

The conversation was cut short as a blond woman approached and greeted Trevor. He replied in kind, even though it was clear that she was more fishing for information than anything else. While she spoke to Trevor, her eyes remained on Jayce and Augustus. Trevor seemed to get a kick out of not explaining who Jayce was while carrying on boring pleasantries, rambling about the nice weather and upcoming community events. After a while, he took mercy on the woman.

“Oh, have you met my new neighbor? This is Jayce Tucker and her son Augustus,” Trevor introduced them. “Jayce, this would be our neighbor from down the street, Kimberly Anderson. Her son is that giant over there,” he motioned to a boy that looked like he could have been twelve. “Believe it or not, the boy is eight.” Jayce could not believe it.

“Oh, wonderful that someone finally moved into that house. How do you like our little community so far?” Kimberly asked, speaking to Jayce.

“It seems nice enough. If everyone is as nice as Trevor and his family, then I’m sure me and my family will love it,” Jayce replied.

“Be sure to come to community events. They’re really fun and you get to meet everyone.”

Trevor rolled his eyes and after basic conversation Kimberly was on her way. Before long, other people were wandering over, forcing Trevor to introduce Jayce to a bunch of people. She got the idea that most of the people were not people he wanted to introduce her to, but there were a handful that were genuine.

“Before Helena gets home, I know at least a dozen people are going to ‘casually’ mention to her that I was in a park with another woman,” Trevor sighed.

“Well, at least she knows you’re safe and sound in the hands of your neighborhood lesbian,” Jayce chuckled.

“It’s not really that that bothers me. It’s the fact that our so-called friends and neighbors would bring something like that up as an attempt to trouble our waters. Too many bored housewives around here or something,” he commented.

“Oh, great, so I’ve been here less than a week and I’ve already gotten so much novelty. The pretty half of a lesbian couple and the smart half of an affair,” the accountant joked, smiling at him.

“Hey, why can’t I be the smart half?” he pretended to whine.

“Look, surfer boy, you can’t be pretty and smart. I’m not competing with the scruffy good lucks, so you don’t compete with my book smarts.”

He laughed again. They sat there for a little while looking, letting their children tired themselves out. Trevor actually had to carry Travis home. Octavia was much too hyped to feel tired until she was out of Travis’ company. As soon as she was in the house without her new friend, she curled up on a blanket in the living room and fell asleep. Jayce could not help smiling at the sight.

“I’m home! Where are my special ladies and little prince?” Gus announced as she entered the house.

“Shhh! Our princess is out like a light,” Jayce informed her spouse as she stepped out of the kitchen to personally greet Gus. She wrapped the taller woman in a sweet embrace before going in for a loving kiss.

Gus smiled as they parted. “Asleep? Did you hit with a tranquilizer dart?” she joked. It was hard to put their little girl down once she was wound up.

“It didn’t come to that. We went to the park with Travis and Trevor. Before that, she was running around in the yard. So, she tired herself out. I think this having a friend will work out better for us than for her,” Jayce remarked.

Gus put on an exaggerated pout. “But, I wanted to play with her!”

Jayce chuckled. “Play with your son for a while. You might be able to motivate him to doing something beyond blowing spit bubbles. He wouldn’t even laugh for me unless I gave him a cookie.”

“He’s learning to negotiate. But, this let’s me know that as the papa, I will have to be the disciplinary around here. How could you give him a cookie for doing nothing?” Gus teased, going off to find their son. “That’s one of the reasons he’s getting a job the second he can stand up. He’s a little mooch.”

“Baby, don’t tease him like that. You don’t know what sort of things his little ears can pick up. If not her, then Octie might,” Jayce gently reprimanded her wife.

Gus sighed dramatically. “Fine, I won’t call him a mooch anymore, but he is still getting a job,” she declared with a smile.

Gus occupied Augustus’ time, whispering how much she loved him into his tummy, which made him giggle. Jayce worked on what they would have for dinner. When Jayce was done, she went to join them. They were all in the living room, not making much noise since Octavia was still sleeping there.

“Tell me about today,” Gus requested, speaking to Jayce as she passed the baby to the smaller woman.

Jayce smiled as she readied the baby for his feeding. Often she and Gus held conversations while the infant suckled her. In the beginning, Gus was curious about breast-feeding and seemed so fascinated by it that Jayce thought it was creepy. She wondered if Gus wanted to breast-feed, but when she asked, Gus assured her that was not the case. Gus was not entirely sure why she was interested, but eventually she stopped staring so much. Jayce was thankful for that.

“Well, I met a lot of people in our neighborhood. Trevor assures me they’ll be talking about the affair he is having with me and when they find out we’re lesbians, we’ll be the talk of the town for a whole month,” Jayce reported.

“Great, it’ll be high school all over again,” Gus commented while rolling her eyes. “And what affair?”

“He said some of the people that saw us would assume we were together since we were sitting together in the park. I’m sure this will all blow over after we settle in here. They just need to get used to us.”

“They better since we’ll be here for the next … I dunno, fifty years?” Gus guessed, smiling brightly as she spoke.

Jayce smiled too. “At the least, baby. At the least.”

Gus smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of her wife’s head. She did not care what was ahead of them. This was their family home and it was going to stay that way.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: just some fluffy family time. Cavity-inducing fluff.


	3. Family Time

3: Family Time 

“Okay, so the couch is going to be delivered today. Are you all right with that?” Gus asked her wife as she walked toward the door to leave for work.

“Yes, baby. I’m fine. Stop acting like I’m a child,” Jayce replied, waving the taller woman off.

Gus pouted. “But, it’s the only thing keeping me from acting like a child! I wanna be here when it gets delivered and I wanna be here when it’s set up along with the other furniture!” she whined. “Working sucks!”

“Aw, but you love your job. Just come home early, you big baby.”

Gus nodded and decided that she was going to do just that. _It’s great being the boss_ , she thought as she left work during her lunchtime with no plans of returning; she did explain to everyone she would not be back. They made sure to exaggerate the extent that she was not needed anyway.

“Papa!” Octavia cheered as Gus pulled up in front of the house.

Gus had to catch the child as she flew at the businesswoman. Before she even had a grip on Octavia, chubby arms were around her neck. Gus laughed and kissed her daughter on the cheek. Octavia eagerly returned the show of affection, planting a wet kiss on Gus’ cheek.

“How’s my little princess doing? You being a good girl for Mommy?” Gus asked.

“I’m always good, Papa! Me and Travie!” Octavia declared.

“Travie?” Gus echoed.

“Yeah, Travie.” Octavia pointed to Travis, who was standing far off at the edge of the yard.

“Got a nickname for him already? Just let Papa know when you start picking out china and things like that?” Gus joked.

Octavia did not get the joke, of course. Gus put the child down and let her rejoin Travis, who was still shy around Gus since he did not know her as well as the rest of her family. Gus waved to the boy anyway, hoping that he would get used to her soon. He waved back a little, which was good enough.

The door was open, which Gus knew was for the children to come in and out. Walking to the living room, she saw that the couch set was delivered and already in use. Jayce and Trevor were sitting on the sofa and talking with each other.

“Am I interrupting your clandestine affair?” Gus teased as she stepped into view.

Jayce snickered. “With the way our little princess reports the entire day to you, I don’t think I can do a damn thing clandestinely,” she countered.

“True enough. Octie is my sweet, tiny informant,” Gus replied, leaning down to give Jayce a light kiss on the lips. The proper kiss would have to wait for their company to leave.

“Don’t I know it,” Jayce snorted.

Gus smiled and sat down, joining on the conversation. She could see why Jayce spent as much time with Trevor as Octavia spent with Travis. He was a funny guy and conversation flowed easily with him. Plus, she could tell Jayce was feeling him out, wanting to be sure that it was safe for Octavia to spend time with him. Of course, the feeling out was subtle, but every now and then, Jayce would ask a question and Gus knew the answer was really underneath the words Trevor used. And Trevor seemed to be passing the tests with flying colors.

“I have to feed the baby,” Jayce realized as the aforementioned child began whining from his space on the living room floor. Picking him up, she went upstairs to the bedroom, leaving Gus and Trevor on their own for the moment.

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence between the two. Gus glanced over at Trevor and she could tell he was nervous about being around her. She could guess why.

“I don’t mind you being here, you know,” she informed him.

“Really?” he asked, somewhat shocked and somewhat in disbelief.

“Yes, really. I’m confident in my relationship and in my family. I know Jay is going to be faithful to me, like I will be to her. Besides, you’re not her type,” Gus remarked with a dazzling smile.

He laughed. “What? Just because I don’t have the right plumbing?”

“There’s that and it doesn’t look like you have a good pair of tits on you,” she added.

“Ah, she’s a breast woman?”

“I might be projecting,” the businesswoman admitted. “I know I’m certainly a breast woman.” She laughed.

“I’m a breast man, so we should get along swimmingly,” he quipped with a lecherous grin.

“I dunno while I’m intrigued by the female breast, there are other parts I enjoy. I don’t know if we’ll continue to get along if you can’t appreciate those parts too,” she teased, giving him a somewhat drunken smile.

“If brains and legs are on your list, I think we can be very good friends.”

“Sounds that way,” she agreed. He leaned over and they bumped fists, which made them both laugh. They then settled back in their seats and it was quiet for about a second.

“Gus, do you happen to play poker?” Trevor inquired.

She shrugged. “A little. Why?”

“I play poker with some friends of mine every now and then. Tomorrow is going to be one of those times. I figure you could join us. It’ll help you get to know people around the neighborhood since my friends live around here too. What do you say?”

Gus shrugged. “I have to think about it. I don’t know if the little woman wants to share friends or not,” she said and he could not tell if she was joking.

“Really?”

“No, not really. We share friends completely. We both had to go out and make a new set of them when we got together.”

“Why?” Trevor asked.

Gus waved it off. “I don’t know you well enough to explain my whole life story to you yet, so how about we stick with the poker and pleasant conversation for now?” she proposed with a smile.

Trevor chuckled. “I guess that makes sense.” There was a brief silence. “So, you’re totally cool with me and Jayce hanging out?” he asked, just to be sure.

“I am. If I’m not worried about her running off with the single lesbians that we know, do you really think I’m worried about her having an affair with a happily married man that has a kid?” Gus countered. “Although with you, I guess it would be easy for her since you live right next door, but I know she wouldn’t do anything like that.”

“Hey, just checking. Since I work at home and have a lot of free time, I usually hang out with a lot of the housewives around here, so people always suspect I’m screwing around with someone. Helena…she doesn’t pay it much mind anymore since she’s used to hearing all that bullshit. I just want to be sure you and I are cool.”

Gus nodded. “I trust Jay and you do seem cool. Don’t worry about it. Now, let’s talk about something a little more pleasant and less circular,” she suggested.

“How about you giving me free stuff? Like any new games you have coming out, especially math games. Travis loves your stuff.”

Gus laughed. “Good to know. Let me get to know you a little better and I’ll take both of you for a spin around the office. We’ll see about the free games and stuff.”

Trevor grinned like a happy child, leaving Gus to wonder if it was really Travis that liked her company’s games so much. They spoke until Jayce returned and she joined in the conversation effortlessly. After a while, the children charged into the house and it was clear that Octavia was ready for a nap, even though she was fighting against it.

“Papa, Travie teached me to whistle,” the little girl reported, crawling into Gus’ lap. She curled up against the businesswoman, snuggling into her body. It was a telltale sign that someone was over-stimulated and ready for a little sleep, Gus thought with a smile.

“Taught you,” Gus corrected gently.

“Taught me…” Octavia yawned and her voice was low. “…taught me to whistle…”

Gus looked up at her wife and Trevor. “She’s going down. I repeat she’s going down,” she remarked with a smile.

“Listen…” Octavia requested and she put her lips together, blowing. A hint of a noise escaped her mouth, but it certainly was not a whistle.

“That was good, baby. You can show me again later,” Gus said in a low tone, rubbing Octavia’s back. Gus learned early on that gentle circles around the small of the back knocked out both Octavia and Jayce.

Octavia nodded and her eyes drifted shut. She was out before she could get another word out. Gus smiled down at the resting body in her arms before turning her attention back to Jayce and Trevor.

“I think it’s at this point that I shall take my leave,” Trevor said since Travis was falling asleep in his arms. Travis was never one for naps until he started hanging out with Octavia. She seemed to just zap him of all of his energy after only a few hours, but then again, he seemed to do the same to her.

“We’ll see you later,” Jayce bid him farewell as she walked him to the door.

While Jayce did that, Gus got up and carried their daughter up to her room. When she came back downstairs, Jayce was sitting on the sofa again. She joined the shorter woman, throwing her arms around Jayce and pulling her into a tight embrace. Once they were settled into each other, Gus leaned down for her proper welcome home kiss. Jayce was all too eager to oblige.

“Why does it always seem like forever in between kisses with you?” Gus wondered aloud as they pulled away for some air.

“Oh, now you’re trying to sweet talk me,” Jayce teased. “We’ve already got two kids together, so you don’t have to keep trying.”

Gus smiled and shook her head. “I disagree, lovely. I now have to try twice as hard. In fact, have I told you how beautiful you are? Because you’re quite beautiful. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, actually,” she commented, gently pressing her hand to Jayce’s smooth face.

Jayce smiled. “You know, you never let me forget why I married you in the first place, smooth talker.”

“Then gimme kisses,” Gus requested.

Jayce happily obliged again, practically knocking Gus back into the couch. They ended up with Gus on her back and Jayce draped over her. Through all of the affection, they remained aware of Augustus. He was lying on the floor on a blanket with a few toys, oblivious as to what his parents were doing.

“I love the way you feel against me,” Gus cooed, holding Jayce tightly around the waist and pressing their bodies together.

“Good because I plan to be here for a long time. So, you better always like it,” Jayce playfully ordered before kissing her spouse on the nose.

“Yes, ma’am.” Gus went in for another short kiss. “I will definitely always like this.” She sighed, sounding rather content. “Have I told you recently how lucky I feel to have you in my life? I feel blessed every time I look at you and our family.”

“Gus, you keep this up and I’m going to think something’s wrong.”

Gus shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong. I’m just feeling a bit sentimental, I guess. I feel refreshed thanks to this move. I feel closer to you, to the kids now. I want to make sure you all know just how much I treasure you and since you’re here right now I’m starting with you,” she explained with a smile.

“Well, I thoroughly appreciate it and I thoroughly appreciate you. Thank you for always making me feel loved.”

Gus smiled and they remained hugged up on the couch. Eventually, Jayce dozed off right on top of Gus. She did not mind, of course, and occupied her time with stroking Jayce’s soft hair. Every now and then, she glanced down to see what her namesake was up to only to discover he was asleep too. Gus got to the feeling that she missed out on a lot of action when she was at work due to the fact that the whole house was knocked out.

While the house was quiet, Gus thought on Trevor’s invitation to play poker. It would be a good way to meet the neighbors. And if Trevor’s friends were anything like he was, she supposed it would be a really nice time out and she might be able to make a few new friends. It would also give her something to do away from the house, so she was not underfoot with Jayce.

Yes, she and Jayce loved spending time together, but every now and then they both needed to get away from each other. It was hard to do when they shared the same friends and often got invited to the same outings. Sometimes, they needed to be able to go out alone and have a good time; they both knew that. So, playing poker might be a way to get on the road to do that. Gus decided to run the idea by Jayce when she woke up.

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce was taken from her sleep as she heard Gus and Octavia giggling not too far away. Sitting up, she spotted them on the floor with flashcards in front of them. Jayce smiled, knowing they were playing one of Gus’ educational games. Gus always made sure to get in some learning time with Octavia when they were together.

“Okay, now what’s this animal?” Gus inquired, pointing to the image on the card.

“Uh … bird …” Octavia guessed.

“No, just because it has wings and starts with a ‘b’ that doesn’t mean it’s a bird. Come on, Octie, you know this one. Look carefully,” the parent gently urged the child.

Dark eyes squinted, examining the picture closely. “Um … ugly bird?” The letters underneath the picture looked familiar, but she could not recall what they were at the moment or what word they made when placed in that order.

“No, princess. Come on, we’ve done this one before. Look carefully at the picture and then at the word,” Gus said, pointing to the word under the picture on the card with her free hand.

A tiny forehead wrinkled as Octavia leaned forward to get a better look. “OH! Bat!” she announced with great confidence. “B-A-T!” she excitedly spelled out.

“Yes! Who’s Papa’s smart little girl?” Gus rubbed the top of her child’s head.

“I am! I am!” Octavia pointed to herself with her thumb as she giggled.

“Yes, you are. Okay, let’s do the next card …”

Jayce watched the pair for a couple of minutes as they went on in that fashion. She could not help smiling whenever she watched them. Gus was so good with Octavia that most people assumed that Octavia was actually Gus’ daughter, despite the fact that Octavia resembled Jayce. For Jayce, it was a huge compliment for people to think that because it meant that Gus’ love for their little girl showed for all to see. The affection was genuine and obviously unashamed. Gus never shied away from Octavia and made it clear that she felt Octavia was her daughter, even if they did not share any blood. 

“We are so lucky to have her,” Jayce whispered, referring to Gus. “She’s just a blessing, an all out miracle.”

Before she got stuck in a starry moment about what a miracle Gus was to her, Jayce went to make dinner. Since she was so impressed with Gus at the moment, she decided to make Gus’ favorite meal; although, it could be argued that Gus did not have a favorite since she enjoyed all of Jayce’s cooking.

“I should make her something special for dessert too, but then again, she’d smell it and ruin the surprise. Maybe tomorrow. Octie would love to help too. She’ll probably explode at the thought of making a cake for Papa,” Jayce commented, smiling as she moved around the kitchen.

Once everything was on and she just needed to wait, Jayce rejoined her family. Gus was still going through cards with Octavia and she was also keeping a close eye on Augustus, rubbing his back every now and then so he knew that she was there. He was making himself busy by trying to pull himself up, using Gus’ thigh for leverage. Jayce picked the baby up before settling in next to Gus.

“Mommy, I Papa’s smart little girl!” Octavia announced, pointing to herself.

“I already know that, sweetheart,” Jayce replied with a warm smile.

“Watch me! Watch me!” Octavia then turned her attention back to her papa. Grinning, she motioned for the next card. “C’mon, Papa! I wanna show Mommy!”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Gus answered, laughing a little from the child’s enthusiasm. She flipped up the next card without looking at it.

Octavia’s eyes went wide and then her forehead wrinkled as she squinted. She put her hand to her chin as she often saw her mother do when Jayce was thinking something over. The adults were quiet as she studied the card and Augustus busied himself by pulling his mother’s hair.

“Oh! Spider!” Octavia announced, slapping her palms on the floor as the animal came to her. She then pointed to each letter as she named them. “S-P-I-D-E … R!” She grinned proudly, happy to have remembered and recognized all of the letters.

Gus had to sneak a quick peek at the card to make sure it was the right creature. “You’re right! I told you that you’re Papa’s smart little girl!”

“See, Mommy, I smart!” the four-year-old declared, pointing to herself again.

“It’s _I’m_ smar _t_ ,” Gus softly corrected the child.

“I _’m_ smart!” Octavia shouted.

“I know you are, baby. You are very smart,” Jayce acknowledged with a warm smile. She reached out and caressed her daughter’s cheek.

Octavia grinned wider, full of delight over being declared so smart. She seemed to put extra effort into her work now that Jayce was watching. She studied the cards more intensely, obviously not wanting to blurt out a wrong answer after her mothers praised her intelligence. But, the cards did get progressively harder.

“You want a clue?” Gus offered as the child focused on the latest card for almost a minute.

“I can do, Papa! I’m smart,” the little girl proclaimed.

“Okay, okay. But, if you a clue just say so,” the businesswoman said.

Octavia nodded, but did not even spare her papa a glance. Putting a finger to her chin, she leaned forward, wanting a closer look. Jayce had to take a peek, needing to see what had their princess so stuck. The card was of a lobster, but as lobsters tend to, it looked like a giant insect.

“Um … buggie?” Octavia finally guess with a puzzled look on her face.

Gus made a clicking noise with her tongue and shook her head. “Is this the letter ‘b’?” she asked, pointing to the large “L” at the beginning of the word “lobster.”

Big, bright onyx eyes glanced at Jayce before going back to Gus. The child then shook her head. “No…”

“Come on, Octie. You know this one. What letter is this?” Gus asked, pointing to the first letter of the word.

“A el,’” the little girl answered.

“What animal starts with ‘l’ then?”

“Um…” Octavia scratched her eyebrow with her pinky; a move she most certainly picked up from Gus. There were times Jayce worried her spouse and their child would scratch their eyebrows off because of how often they did it.

“Come on,” Gus gently urged the child.

“OH! Lob-ester!” Octavia shouted, pointing at the card and grinning. “L-O-B-S-T-E-R!” She hooted right after she spelled it and earned a high-five from her papa.

“You did it!” Gus grinned.

Octavia nodded. “I did it!”

“Is the lobster called Ester?” Jayce asked Gus as a joke.

The businesswoman laughed. “That’s how she says it. Onto the next card!” she declared, focusing back on Octavia and pulling up the next card.

Jayce stuck around for a few more animals before getting up to check on dinner. She took Augustus with her, so he would not get in between Octavia and Gus. She knew that Octavia treasured any alone time that she could get with her papa.

“Not to say that Octie doesn’t like having you around too, lil Caesar,” Jayce assured the baby. “It’s just she has to get used to sharing Papa and she had a very special and deep relationship with Papa. I hope when you get older you have it too because your papa is a very special lady. Because of that, I made her favorite dinner tonight. When you get older, you’ll see just how lucky you are to have Gus for a papa. I know she jokes around about making you get a job, but I know you can feel just how much she loves you. How much she loves us all.”

Augustus cooed and Jayce smiled, taking the noise as a reply. Apparently, Gus-Gus already liked his papa, which explained why he tried to climb all over her whenever he got the chance. Jayce checked on all of the food and began turning pots off. She went to put the baby in his chair, so that she could fix a plate for Gus and one for Octavia. She smiled all the way through the task.

“Sometimes, I think I was born either way too early or too late in the era. I just love being a housewife and mother. If I wasn’t a lesbian, feminists would probably be picketing outside the house,” Jayce joked, setting up the dining room table. Once everything was perfect, she called for her spouse and daughter.

“Something smells really good,” Gus commented as she walked into the dining room with Octavia on her back.

“I should hope so. It is dinner, after all,” Jayce replied with a proud smile.

“Oh, my god! What right thing have I done to be blessed with this bounty?” Gus inquired as she surveyed the table. Waiting for her to dive right in was jerk chicken, rice and peas, macaroni and cheese, and the only vegetable that she would eat without cheese or butter—cabbage.

“Just being you is good enough,” the shorter woman answering, kissing Gus on the cheek.

Gus nodded. “I’ll have to be me more often.”

Jayce lightly swatted at her for that cheeky remark. Gus giggled and put Octavia down in her chair, which had a booster seat in it, so that she could sit at the table and see her plate. Gus then slid into her own seat.

“I had to make biscuits because we didn’t have any cocoa bread,” Jayce explained, knowing that cocoa bread would have made the meal perfection for her spouse.

“I don’t mind biscuits. You make great biscuits,” Gus declared, just in case her wife did not know that.

Jayce smiled a bit and took her own seat, next to Gus. Octavia was across from them, focusing on her meal rather than her parents. Gus-Gus was in his chair at the head of the table, nodding off. A warm feeling settled in Jayce as she looked at her family and she reached down, taking Gus’ hand. The action caused the older woman to look at her wife.

“Are you all right?” Gus asked.

“Fine. I’m just very sentimental tonight. Bear with me, please,” Jayce requested.

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

The family began eating their food. Octavia talked endless through the meal, going on about television shows she watched that day, games that she played, and even dreams that she had while taking her nap. Her mothers hung onto her every word, as they always did, chiming in whenever she gave them a chance to do so.

“That was so goood!” Gus moaned, stretching and scratching her belly after finishing her meal.

“I’m glad you liked it,” Jayce said, reaching over and teasing Gus by tickling her stomach. Gus curled into herself and laughed.

“I love your cooking and you,” Gus commented, coming in for a tender peck on the lips.

“Papa! No kissy face at the table!” Octavia reminded her parents.

“Oh, right. Who started that rule anyway?” the businesswoman groaned.

Jayce rubbed her spouse’s head. “I did. It keeps you and Octie from tormenting each other when you start tickling and wrestling each other. How you two manage to make showing love a plaything is beyond me, though,” she replied. It always started out with the pair tickling or wrestling each other as she said and then the next thing she knew one of them would be kissing the other’s cheeks, but not to show affection. It was to get spit and drool on each other as well as to mock-bite each other. The worst of it always seemed to happen at the table, before or just after a meal. She did not understand why.

“Oh, yeah,” Gus agreed with a nod. She did not have the decency to look ashamed.

“All right, let me clean this up and then it’s time for the little princess’ bath,” Jayce announced.

“Can I wear the duckie pajamas tonight, Mommy?” Octavia requested.

“Of course. And it’s ‘may I,’” Jayce corrected the child.

“Hey, Jay, how about I clear the table and you take the princess for her bath?” Gus offered.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind, you know,” Jayce pointed out.

“I know you don’t, but I can’t let you do everything around here. Me and little Caesar will take care of things down here,” Gus insisted, nodding toward the sleeping baby.

Jayce did not argue and scooped up their littler girl while Gus moved to clear the table. She left Augustus to sleep, moving the dishes to the dishwasher after scrapping any food left into the garbage. She also moved to take the garbage out since it would be collected in the morning. With those chores done, she picked up Augustus to put him in his crib, which was located in her and Jayce’s bedroom. For a long moment, she stood there and stared down at him.

“You’re so precious to me, baby boy. You and your sister are something I waited my whole life for and your mommy was great enough to give you to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let you all know what you mean to me, but I will do my best to try. I love you so much, little man. You’ll never want for anything as long as I’m around, little Caesar. I will always treat you, your sister, and your mommy like royalty,” Gus vowed, speaking aloud, but in a very low tone.

“Hey, sweetheart, you all right?” Jayce asked, coming up behind her spouse and hugging her.

“I’m fine. I was just admiring our little man here,” Gus answered.

“He is precious, isn’t he?” Jayce reached into the crib and touched their son’s fingers.

“Just like his sister and his mommy. I was just telling him that, in fact.”

“You’re too sweet. Speaking of his sister, she is all in her duckie pajamas and waiting for her mothers to read her a bedtime story. Thankfully, she requested a really nice one, so I think we might have the bed to ourselves tonight,” Jayce reported.

“Oh, if Gus-Gus doesn’t find himself being a party-pooper, maybe we can do some making out,” Gus remarked with a cheeky grin.

Chuckling a bit, Jayce gave Gus a light swat on the butt to get her moving out of the room. She grabbed the baby monitor on her way out, just in case. They made their way to Octavia’s room and the little girl was sitting up in her bed, holding onto a very thick book. She beamed when her mothers entered the room.

“Hey, there, princess, you look all ready for bed. Now, what story do you want to hear before you have very pleasant dreams?” Gus inquired as she settled into one side of the bed and her wife sat on the other, leaving their daughter in the middle.

“This one!” Octavia opened the door onto the page that she wanted; she had been holding the section with one of her fingers to keep track.

“Hmm…you must be having a very duckie night,” Gus commented.

“I like duckies. They’re cute and yellow and soft. Take me to feed the duckies soon, okay?” the child requested.

Her mothers laughed, but agreed. They then began reading the tale to Octavia. She stayed awake for the whole thing; she never left a story unfinished, no matter how tired she was. Large, dark eyes were struggling to stay open as the final words were read. Once the story was over, Gus eased the book off of Octavia’s lap and Jayce gently pushed the child down. When her head hit the pillow, her eyes closed.

“Good night, Octie,” Jayce whispered and she kissed the little girl’s forehead.

“’Night, Mommy …” Octavia replied in a low voice and then she put her arms up.

“Oh, almost forgot.” Jayce leaned down and gave the girl a hug. Gus then moved in for her own hug and a kiss.

“Good night, my smart little girl,” Gus said.

“’Night, Papa…”

The parents exited the room and were certain that Octavia was asleep before the light was turned off. The couple went to check on their son once more before descending downstairs to the living room. The baby monitor was placed close by just in case Augustus needed them. Jayce sat down on the sofa, curling her legs up while Gus looked through their movies.

“What do you feel like tonight?” Gus asked.

“I don’t care. I just want to cuddle into you,” Jayce replied.

“Hell, we don’t need a movie for that.” The older woman went and flopped down next to her spouse. She put her hands around Jayce and pulled the smaller form to her.

“I’m looking forward to years of this,” Jayce whispered, wrapping her arms around her love.

For a long while, the couple was quiet, enjoying being close. Hands wandered their bodies leisurely, but without any intention beyond simple touching. Gus leaned down, playfully rubbing noses together. Jayce giggled and then went in for her own sweet, simple kiss.

“Good thing there’s not a ‘no kissy face on the couch’ rule, huh?” Gus teased.

“We’d be in big trouble if there were,” Jayce remarked, crawling further onto her wife, making herself comfortable.

“Really big trouble,” Gus agreed with a smile, lying back some, so that Jayce could properly recline on her.

“Want to get into even more trouble?” Jayce proposed with a delightfully wicked smile on her face.

“I’d love to,” Gus replied, growling a little. Her hands snaked down her beloved’s back and settled on her glorious rear.

“You know that’s always the first place your hands go? Even when it was grossly huge because of your baby boy,” Jayce commented before going in for a kiss.

“I love it. Besides, you won’t let me near my other favorite place,” Gus pointed out, one hand wandering toward the implied destination.

“You leave those alone. You can’t be trusted with them.” Jayce moved her wife’s hand back to where its twin rested.

“What? One time I want to see what it tastes like and you’d think I have some sort of fetish,” Gus said with a cute grin, not matching with what she was talking about.

“I think you might. It wasn’t one time. Speaking of time, we don’t have much of it,” Jayce pointed out.

Gus, showing that she agreed with the comment, went in for a proper kiss. Jayce met her passion for passion. Gus’ hands borrowed under the waistband of Jayce’s hands, pulling the smaller woman closer. Jayce moaned, breaking the kiss as she turned a little.

“Is it all right to do this here?” Jayce inquired, her body starting to move its own. Soon, it there would be no questions and there would be no stopping.

“Would you rather go to our room where Gus-Gus is less than three feet away?”

Jayce answered that by starting a fresh kiss. Apparently, it was all right to do “this” in the living room. Gus was certainly not going to complain, giving into the kiss and going back to groping her wife.

-8-8-8-8-

Gus moved the covers on the bed and settled in before turning her attention across the room. Jayce was feeding their resident bottomless pit, who woke up not too long ago screaming at the top of his lungs. It seemed that Augustus wanted company and then food, in that order. He had stopped crying when Gus picked him up, but then cried when she put him back down and would not stop until his mommy showed up. Once Jayce came to the rescue, he was fine.

With the late night snack out of the way, Jayce rocked Augustus until he was sleeping again. She placed him back in his crib before returning to her own bed. Gus immediately wrapped her arms around Jayce and pulled the smaller woman to her.

“That was quick,” Gus commented.

“He probably ran out of food. I wonder why,” Jayce replied, taking Gus’ hands and putting them on her stomach.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were accusing me of something. I don’t think I like that very much,” Gus said in a low tone, moving to rest her head by Jayce’s neck. It was no surprise when she placed several light kisses to it.

“I like the way you express your displeasure …” Jayce purred.

“Really? I didn’t satisfy you before? Am I a bad spouse?” Gus pretended to pout.

Jayce turned, wanting to look into kind hazel eyes. “You’re the best spouse ever. You always satisfy me, thoroughly and completely. You’re not just a great spouse, but you’re also a great papa,” she said with a tender smile.

“You’re just saying that. You always say such nice things about me, baby. It makes me really happy. You make me really happy.”

Jayce smiled. “I try.”

“You do a good job. I don’t think I compliment you enough. But, let me start with, thank you for everything you’ve given me, especially our wonderful family. You’re actually the best spouse ever. You always have everything perfect for me when I come home. You do almost everything around the house and you never complain.”

“I don’t take out the garbage,” Jayce pointed out.

“Well, since I’m the ‘papa,’ I figure I should handle the ‘guy’ things. Speaking of guys, your guy-friend Trevor invited me to his house to play poker tomorrow. What do you think? Should I go?” Gus asked curiously.

“I think it might be good for you. You can make new friends. These past few years, you’ve always watched over me. All of the friends we have now are because these are people I met. You’ve stick close to me to make sure nothing happens. Well, you now have a chance to make your own friends. I think you should go for it.”

Gus nodded. “Just for the record, I like _our_ friends. We made them together, even though you did most of the networking to meet them. Next, most of the people at the poker game will probably be guys.”

“Is that a problem? I’ve never noticed you to have a problem with male friends before. You also don’t have a problem with straight friends. So, do you think it’ll be a problem?” Jayce asked curiously.

“I’m not sure. I suppose I won’t know unless I try,” Gus said.

“This is true. So, you’ll go?”

“You’ll be fine with the kids for the night?”

Jayce chuckled. “I’m with them all day as it is.”

“This is why I ask if you’ll be fine with them for the night. Won’t you need a break?” Gus inquired.

“Baby, I’ll be fine. It’s one night. Besides, I like being with the kids. It’ll be nice to have them for the night. I can remind them that I can be the cool parent if they let me,” Jayce remarked with a smile.

“You are cool. You’re cooler than the other side of the pillow,” Gus remarked, earning a laugh from her spouse.

“Smooth talker. Now, let’s get some sleep.”

Gus nodded and settled in, spooning Jayce closely and holding her tightly. Jayce snuggled into Gus’ body and fell asleep easily in the secure embrace. Gus was out right after her.

-8-8-8-8-

Laughter echoed through the Tucker household. Octavia was trying to crawl away as her papa tickled her. Gus was not letting the little girl go.

“You gonna tell me the secret you and your Mommy have yet?” Gus demanded with a grin. When she had come in, Octavia had announced that she and Mommy had a surprise for papa. Well, papa wanted to know what it was now.

“NOOO! Mommy help!” Octavia cried, clawing at the floor with the hope of escaping her papa. Unfortunately, hardwood was not easy to get a grip on. 

“Gus, let the princess up,” Jayce ordered as she stepped into the living room.

“But, I wanna know the surprise,” Gus pretended to whine, pulling their daughter to her chest and holding her like a teddy bear.

“Come into the kitchen then. Once you see that, go take a shower, so you’ll be ready for the card game.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Gus went into the kitchen, still carrying Octavia as if she were a stuffed toy, tucked underneath her arm. The child did not seem to mind, grinning as she went along for the ride. Her grin actually widened when she heard her papa gasp.

“You made a black forest cake for me?” Gus asked.

“I helped’ed!” Octavia proclaimed proudly.

“You helped,” Gus corrected their daughter.

“I helped Mommy make it,” Octavia said, pointing to herself just in case her papa did not know who she meant. Gus turned the child upright to give her a hug for her effort.

“Well thank you. It’s my favorite type of cake,” Gus said as Jayce came up behind her and hugged her. “I wonder what I did to deserve it.”

“You were your usual wonderful self. Now, go take your shower and get ready to go make new friends,” Jayce gently ordered.

“Papa, you’re gonna make friends? Can I come?” Octavia requested.

“But, I need you to stay here and keep your mommy and your brother company. They would be lonely if we both left,” Gus informed their daughter. “Do you want Mommy and Gus-Gus to be lonely?”

Octavia shook her head. “Of course not, Papa!”

“Then you have to do me the favor of staying with them, so they don’t feel lonely. This is very important and you’re the only person I think who can handle it,” Gus said, making sure to sound extra-serious about the situation.

Octavia nodded again and Gus set her down. The businesswoman went and took a quick shower. She threw on some casual clothing once she was out of the shower. Going back downstairs, she saw Octavia was in the living room watching cartoons with her brother next to her in his chair. Gus smiled and was caught off–guard by her spouse coming up behind her.

“Oh, look at you, already to go out and play. You try to have a good time, okay?” Jayce said.

“I’ll do my best. Should I bring something to this thing? He didn’t say so, but it seems like I should bring something,” Gus realized.

“There’s a case of beer in the fridge. I hope you don’t mind carrying it.”

Gus chuckled. “Are you kidding? Apparently, I’m the husband around here, so carrying it shouldn’t be a problem,” she joked.

“Poker nights, a child that calls you ‘papa,’ and all the ‘guy’ chores, I guess you are the husband. I have to say, you are one fine piece of husband, though. I especially like these parts of you,” Jayce whispered, running her hands over her beloved’s chest and thighs. “Nothing about you says husband in those places.”

“Good to know. I wouldn’t want those pieces to say anything beyond Jayce’s wife.”

“I think the whole package says that. Parts of the whole just also include husband.”

Gus chuckled and turned to giver her spouse a little kiss. She then moved to retrieve the beer from the refrigerator, needing to be on her way now if she was going to be on time. Lifting the box, she was glad that she would only have to carry it next door. The last thing she wanted was for Jayce to think that she was getting weak in her old age.

“Well, I’m off,” Gus announced.

“Make sure you have a good time,” Jayce said, giving her spouse one last kiss.

“Bye, Papa!” Octavia shouted and she charged Gus, hugging her around the leg since her arms were full.

Gus wasted no time, putting the beer down and picking her little girl up for a tight hug and a light kiss. She went into the living room to bid farewell to the baby too. With an “I love you” said to everyone, Gus picked up the beer and went off to make some new friends…or so she hoped.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Gus gets to play poker while Jayce gets an unwanted phone call.


	4. Poker face

4: Poker face

“Hey, Gus, glad you made it!” Trevor declared with a wide grin as he opened the door to his home.

“It wasn’t that hard. You’re right next door, after all,” Gus remarked with a friendly smile of her own. “I’ve brought beer too,” she said, holding up her bounty, which was a box full of beer.

“Nice, a whole case,” Trevor nodded his approval. “You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did. Let me take that from you. Come on in,” he ushered her in while grabbing the container from his guest.

Gus nodded and stepped into the house. Trevor closed the door behind her and she followed him down to the basement, where there was table was set up for the poker game. There were three men sitting around the table, chatting and eating a bunch of different finger foods.

“Guys, this is our newest neighbor, Gus Tucker. She bought the house between me and the McAlister’s place,” Trevor announced. “Best of all, she brought beer,” he added, holding up the gift. He then deposited the beer into a small fridge that was in the corner. The large basement was clearly the place for small gatherings with the card table and large couch facing a wall-mounted fifty-five inch television.

“She brought beer? She’s a keeper!” one of the fellows declared with a winsome grin. An obviously loved hat, torn and worn on the brim, hid what seemed to be curly brown hair. The rugged makings of a beard covered his cute face and his brown eyes shined as he continued to smile.

“That’s Ryan. His house is on the next block, right behind mine,” Trevor explained to Gus.

“Pleased to meet you,” Gus said, leaning forward to shake Ryan’s hand. He had to shove a handful of pretzels in his mouth before he could shake her hand. Thankfully, she did not mind the remnants of salt and crumbs.

“Same here,” he replied, standing a little to properly shake her hand. He seemed like the average-sized male and she noticed that he was wearing tan cargo shorts with flip-flops. She was willing to bet he was very similar to Trevor.

“You don’t happen to work at home like our host, do you?” Gus inquired with an arched eyebrow.

“Nah, we’re not all so lucky like this schmuck over here,” Ryan remarked with a teasing smile, nodding toward their host.

“Don’t be jealous,” Trevor replied, a cocky smirk on his face.

“Trev, I thought this game was only for guys. What the deal inviting a chick to play?” another man inquired, throwing his hand out in the “chick’s” direction.

Gus turned her attention to him and smiled, deciding to just bite back. “Oh, didn’t Trev tell you that I’m the dude in a lesbian relationship?” she countered, trying her best to hold back a sneer. As much as she liked Trevor, she was not going to put up with any bullshit from his friends.

“Lesbian?” all three men echoed as if they did not know what the term meant. Gus could not believe that “lesbian” seemed like such a foreign concept, like she and Jayce were the first lesbians to ever exist.

Trevor sighed as if exhausted. “Yes, Gus moved in with her wife recently. They’re lesbians,” he explained. “If anybody has a problem with it, they can get out,” he added because he was not interested in any problems beyond the obvious of having a woman at what was supposed to be an all guy poker game.

“I always thought the neighborhood could use some hot lesbians,” Ryan remarked with an obviously teasing smile. That seemed to break the ice and keep any tension from rising. Trevor smiled at him for that. Gus chuckled a bit; she figured that she was going to like Ryan.

“So, Gus, the other two chaps are Luis,” Trevor said, pointing to the man that questioned why a woman was joining them.

Luis was a fair-skinned Hispanic male. He was a little overweight with his belly popping up from his maroon polo shirt. His dark hair was brushed back and shining from hair gel. He had a goatee, which was so perfect that Gus assumed that a professional did it. His hard brown eyes looked her up and down as if he was disgusted with her. She could guess where he stood on the “lesbians in the neighborhood” issue.

“And that’s Glenn,” Trevor pointed to the silent gentleman. He was a clean cut blonde with glasses over his green eyes. His strong jaw was clear of any hair and his nose appeared somewhat crooked. He was wearing a short-sleeve button-down shirt, showing off large biceps that made it clear he was in shape.

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m sure you and your family will be an improvement to the neighborhood, especially when compared to the family that lived in your house,” Glenn said, reaching over to shake Gus’ hand.

“You make me feel like there wasn’t much competition in that area,” Gus commented, giving his hand a strong shake.

“Trust me, if you do us all the kindness of just setting your garbage out the right day and not screaming at all hours of the night, we’ll love you always forever and day,” Glenn remarked with a smile.

“Now, let’s get this game going, so you guys can grill Gus while I take your money,” Trevor quipped with a grin.

Ryan and Glenn nodded in agreement with that while Luis seemed to dislike the idea, but did not voice his thoughts. Trevor pointed Gus to an empty chair, sat next to her, and quickly explained how they played to her. With the brief tutorial out of the way, the cards were dealt and the game was on.

“So, Gus, your marriage…” Luis said, eyes on his cards.

“What about it?” she inquired, arranging her own cards. She had a feeling he was about to say something stupid, but she would wait and see if he was the asshole that she assumed him to be.

“Is it legal or is it one of those things where you’ve been dating this woman for a long time and you pretend to be married?” he asked, glancing up over his cards, giving her a smug look.

 _Yup, definitely an asshole_. “Is it legal?” she echoed with an arched eyebrow.

“Luis,” Trevor hissed.

“What? I know that sometimes gay people say that they’re married and it turns out that they’ve just been dating someone for a while,” Luis argued.

“Personally, I feel like the term marriage covers a lot of ground, but I think you’re using a narrow definition where if it’s not legal, then it’s not real. Legally, yes, I am married to Jayce. I would ask the same about you and your spouse, but I get the feeling you probably clubbed her over the head when she wasn’t looking,” Gus remarked, earning snickers from Ryan and Glenn.

“She’s got you there,” Ryan commented. “Gus, why don’t you tell us about your family? Trevor mentioned that it’s been going around that he’s having an affair with your wife. I guess it’s good, so I don’t have to hear about how he’s having an affair with my wife, Pammy,” he said with a chuckle.

“Is that going around already?” Gus asked, glancing over at the host. _These guys around here don’t mess around with juicy gossip_.

“I heard some whispers about it going to pick up snacks today. This is my fifth affair this year. I wonder if that’s some sort of record,” Trevor replied.

“I think you need to be sleeping with at least of them for it to count. Or, hell, at least emotionally attached beyond being a friend,” Ryan remarked, laughing a little.

“Then I got nothing. You just took away all my pimp juice,” Trevor remarked, earning laughs from everyone at the table. “But, anyway, while I’ve been busy having an affair with Jayce, my boy has been hijacked by their daughter. She’s a feisty little thing.”

“You have a daughter?” Glenn asked Gus.

“Daughter and a son,” she answered.

“Both named after her. Can you believe it? She has two kids named after her,” Trevor informed his friends.

“What’s your secret? Hell, I wanted my wife to my son after me and told me ‘you want him named after you, then you carry him for nine months, go through all sickness, weight gain, and hours of labor.’ I think that shut me up for the rest of the pregnancy,” Glenn commented with a nod. There was a small smile on his face that sort of showed his love for his wife.

“Both of your kids are named after you? So, the whole house is called Gus?” Ryan asked curiously.

“No, just me and the boy are Gus. Well, he’s Gus-Gus. My daughter is Octavia,” Gus explained, but knew that she had to go into further detail from the blank stares. “My name – Augusta – comes from the first Roman emperor, Augustus. Before he became emperor, his name was Octavius. Thus, my daughter is named after me.”

“That’s clever,” Glenn said, nodding.

“It got a chuckle out of me,” Trevor commented, laughing again at that moment.

“What do to two women know about raising up a boy?” Luis grumbled with a stern frown on his face. “Two women shouldn’t be bringing up a boy.”

“Oh, yes, that’s fair to say. I suppose then you should take away the daughter of any man who is raising her on his own then?” Gus asked, rolling her eyes.

The question seemed to shut Luis up for a while. They played in silence for a just as long. Glenn broke the quiet, turning his attention back to Gus.

“What do you do for a living?” the blond male asked curiously.

“I make education software. Have you heard of Winter education?” Gus countered.

“What? Heard of it? I’ve bought my son tons of stuff from there. His favorite thing is the geography stuff. He walks around all day singing those crazy geography songs. You really make that stuff?” Glenn inquired with wide eyes and his mouth somehow hanging open.

“Yeah, go into the office everyday and get to play around with stuff like that,” she answered with a nod.

“When you say you make the software, you work for the company?” Luis asked.

“I own the company. I started it while I was in school and it just sort of grew into what it is now. It’s not very big or anything, but most of the people that have heard of us enjoy what we produce,” Gus explained with a shrug.

“I think your company will continue to expand. I know I recommend it to anyone I know with kids and whoever tries it always seems happy with it,” Glenn informed her.

“I hope it does keep growing. I love going into work everyday and everyone that works with me seems the same. My daughter loves testing out new products,” Gus said with a shrug.

Ryan nodded. “That sounds like a cool job. Beats my gig, I’ll bet.”

“What do you do?” Gus asked curiously.

“Believe it or not, I work in an office. I have to put on a monkey suit everyday and I’m trusted with making sure our ad accounts are all in order. His wife gets to bite my head off about every week,” Ryan answered, pointing at Trevor.

“Working with Helena has to be an adventure,” Luis commented, snorting at the end of the statement.

Ryan waved it off. “To be honest, I think Helena gets the short end of the stick most of the time. We work with a lot of assholes who don’t give her the credit she deserves and they seem to get a kick out how far they can push her. Then they grumble about how she’s a bitch when she blows up on them.”

“You say that because your wife is just like Helena,” Luis scoffed.

“I wonder how often people at your job complain about what a bitch you are,” Ryan countered, smirking at Luis from across the table.

“You know, Luis, you’d think you’d learn not to get mixed up with Ryan. He always gets you,” Glenn pointed out.

“It’s because he’s always so damn negative. Not to mention, Trevor’s nice enough to host us every week and you just say some damn rude things about the man’s wife. He doesn’t come into your house snapping on Joanna every chance he gets, does he?” Ryan pointed out.

Luis frowned. “Just play the cards,” he grumbled.

There was silence for a few moments before Ryan had more questions for the newcomer. “So, Gus, how old are your kids?”

“Octie is four and Gus-Gus is six months,” she answered.

“Gus-Gus. That is too cute. Your daughter came up with that, didn’t she?” Glenn asked.

“Yeah, she did. How’d you guess?” Gus inquired.

“I have nieces and they love watching Cinderella. I’m willing to bet my left leg, your little girl does too,” the blond replied.

“She does. She is a Disney princess. Funny enough, she didn’t start calling him ‘Gus-Gus’ because his name is similar to mine, but because he reminded her of the mouse from Cinderella. And by that, she meant he was tiny and fat,” Gus remarked, drawing chuckles from everyone except for Luis.

“Are you going to let her find out that’s pretty much how all babies are by having another one?” Glenn asked curiously.

Gus shook her head. “I think Jayce and I are done with babies. Our princess has so much energy, she has to equal like four kids on her own,” she remarked.

Trevor nodded. “Their little girl is like a bubble of energy. Pink energy,” he added. “She’s running my poor boy into the ground. I can’t imagine him living very long if he has to keep up with her for the next thirteen years.”

“Well, you wanted him to hang around kids his own age,” Ryan pointed out with a chuckle.

“I think he might’ve met his future wife, only he won’t know it until one day he’s at an alter. I picture him now with the ‘how the hell did this happen’ face as the March of the Bride starts,” Trevor joked.

“Isn’t that how you got married?” Glenn quipped, speaking to Ryan.

“I think Pam drugged me. I still have no recollection of this so-called ceremony. Don’t I look high in the pictures?” Ryan laughed and grinned.

“Don’t confuse high with drunk and if she did drug you, you got the better end of the deal,” Trevor replied.

“Well, then hopefully Travis will have the better end of the deal when he wonders how the hell he ended up married to the neighbor girl,” Ryan commented and earned a few laughs.

“What about you guys? Do you have any kids?” Gus asked.

“I’ve just got the one son. He’s going to be eleven this year. His mother named the poor kid Elliot. We still haven’t figured out a cool way to shorten that, beyond calling him ‘El’ and that gets a certain smartass going about why his nickname is ‘the’,” Glenn replied, cutting a glance at Luis.

“Not my fault your son has such a corny nickname,” Luis pointed out with a chuckle. “Not my kids fault either.”

“Ryan, what about you? Do you have kids?” Gus inquired.

“At the moment, no. My wife is all career, career, career right now. I’m sure eventually she’ll want to be a mom, though. She’s got plenty of time. She’s only twenty-six,” he answered.

“Twenty-six?” Gus echoed.

A chuckle escaped Ryan. “Yeah, I bagged me a young one. I’m seven years older than she is. She teases me about it all the time.”

“Where did you meet a girl seven years younger than you?” Gus inquired with interest. Of course, she was older than Jayce, not seven years.

“Believe it or not, in a bowling alley. She can’t bowl for beans and accidentally threw her ball down my lane. She apologized and we started talking. Next thing you know, we’re dating and getting married. I’ll be sure to introduce you to her, so she can tell you the slanted version of the tale where she swears she chucked the ball down my lane on purpose to meet me,” he replied with another laugh. “How’d you meet your wife?”

Gus shook her head. “That’s not a story for new friends.”

The response got a few interested looks. Trevor laughed a bit. “Do I smell a scandal?” he teased.

“Did you turn her gay or something and steal her from her husband?” Glenn joked.

“Jayce was gay long before she met me. Trust me on that one. But, like I said, it’s not a story for new friends. It involves me doing a lot of shitty things to her, including getting her fired,” the businesswoman stated.

“You got the woman fired and she still married you and had kids with you and named them after you? What the hell? Are you some kind of magician?” Ryan remarked with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

“If you think that’s magic, just wait until you get to know me enough to know the whole story. You’d swear I’m some kind of demon to have pulled this off, especially if you see what Jayce looks like,” Gus quipped. “Topping it off, I can’t cook and she’s like a happy little housewife for me.”

“Burn her!” Ryan joked, pointing at the only woman at the table. “Witch! She’s a witch!”

“Well, Gus, you’ve already made me realize what I want to be in my next life. I wonder what kind of karma I’d need to come back as a lesbian,” Glenn mused and rubbed his chin. Everyone except Luis laughed.

“You and me both because I want to come back just the way I am,” Gus remarked with a bright smile. _I do love my life. If I could do it all over again, I damn sure would_.

“Is Jayce really a housewife? We have a lot of those around here, including Trevor of course. When she gets fed up with him, though, she can hang out with my wife,” Glenn offered.

“For the moment, Jayce works at home. She’s actually an accountant and until she got pregnant with Gus-Gus, she worked with my company. She works at home now on a few clients. I’m not too sure if she plans to go back to a firm once the kids are in school or something, but she’s happy to be at home with them for now,” Gus explained.

“Witch,” Ryan repeated. “You have to be a witch.”

“I’ve been called worse, so I’ll take it,” Gus joked.

“I’m with Ryan. As soon as we leave here, I’m calling a priest. Maybe even the Spanish Inquisition. You’ll never expect it!” Trevor joked, earning more laughs.

“I’ll convert them. My powers are great,” the businesswoman remarked.

There were more chuckles before their attention turned back to their cards. A few hands went by with silence continuing to reign over the room. When conversations started up again, they talked about everyday things like sports and current events, which led them into politics. Gus was not surprised by any of the views that came up about politics from the men. She was starting to wonder if she would make it through the night without punching Luis, though.

“Could you be anymore conservative?” Gus inquired, speaking to Luis. She was just sick of hearing Luis going on about the leeching poor people of society and how they were driving his taxes up. “How about we just take all of the orphans and wounded war vets out into the woods and shoot ‘em?” she suggested sarcastically.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t steal my campaign promises for when I run for president,” Ryan joked.

“Remind me if you win to move to England. I need an ocean between me and the country that voted you anything beyond village idiot,” Trevor taunted his friend.

“Look who’s talking. You’re like Ryan’s alter ego,” Glenn commented.

“You were gonna be my running mate, but hell, I’ll take Gus now,” Ryan quipped. “She can use her witchy lesbian powers to seduce the crowds.”

“If that’s the case, I’d run myself,” Gus pointed out with a smile. “I could be like a female Dionysus and just have hoards of women following me around.”

“Okay, well, when you get that cult going, call us,” Ryan said, motioning to the other males at the table.

“Like your wife would let you do anything beyond work for a woman if a cult of women did come along,” Glenn teased.

“She does have your balls in a jar,” Trevor added in.

“We shouldn’t even get to where Helena has your reproductive organs. It’s her purse, right?” Ryan replied with a teasing grin. The sound of faint footsteps distracted them.

“Speak of the devil,” Luis muttered, earning glares from the other men at the table.

The basement door open and Gus learned what Luis was referring to. Helena came down just enough for them to see her. She seemed to spot her spouse by instinct; a power that Gus noticed her wife also possessed.

“Okay, gentleman, I would like to inform you that my son is now getting ready for bed, so please keep down any noise. Thank you,” Helena requested, although her voice made it clear that was an order. But, it was a respectful order. She was about to head back upstairs when her sharp eyes noticed Gus and narrowed at the sight of the businesswoman.

The model of self-control, Gus did not hint that she was offended by the look, even though she could see hate in Helena’s eyes. The lady of the house turned her attention back to Trevor and it was clear from the look that she gave him that he was in trouble. He laughed awkwardly, but did not acknowledge the look beyond that. With one more lingering, wicked gaze at Gus, Helena vanished back upstairs.

“So, where’s she take Travis today anyway?” Glenn asked curiously, showing no hints that he noticed the quick exchange between Helena and Trevor or Helena and Gus.

“Some kiddie movie he wanted to see,” Trevor replied, waving the question off. The game continued.

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce was rocking Gus-Gus to sleep while Octavia was watching a movie in the living room. It was almost bedtime for the little girl, but Jayce promised that she could finish her movie first. Things were quiet for the most part, except for Octavia singing along with her show and dancing every now and then. The phone ringing cut through an extremely upbeat song and Jayce almost missed it.

Reaching over, she grabbed the phone while glancing at the clock. It was not too late, so she did not think much of the call. She did not bother to check the caller ID, though. There were only a few people with the new number anyway.

“Hello?” Jayce answered the call, glancing down at the baby to see that he was sound asleep finally.

“Oh, I’m surprised I didn’t get your answering service,” a voice that sent a chill down Jayce’s spine commented in a prickly tone.

For a moment, Jayce was certain her heart stopped and her lungs ceased to function. Her mind came up with a million different reasons why the person she thought was on the phone could not be on the phone. No, she was just hallucinating. Or, she was dreaming. Yes, she had fallen asleep on the sofa and was having a nightmare. That had to be it!

“How… how… how did you get this number?” Jayce inquired, her voice in shambles as she fought against the urge to not weep.

“Come now, girl, you should know me better than that. You can’t hide from me, you freak, and you can’t keep my granddaughter from me. I’m going to get her back and return her to her father while keeping her away from you and that depraved bitch you do sick things with!”

“What Gus and I do are not sick, Mom. Leave my family alone,” Jayce implored, her voice cracking a bit in between. She then had to swallow a lump in her throat and suppressing the desire to vomit.

“You are sick and depraved and you’re harming Princess! I’m sure of it! I don’t care what some social worker says, I know you’re both molesting Princess and probably that little boy too! You twisted little bitch!”

“Mom…” Jayce whimpered, tears falling from her eyes.

“I’m getting Princess back! You know I’ll do it and I’ll make sure to ruin that fucking bitch that’s helping you, you sick slut! And, just remember, it’ll be all your fault when she’s bankrupt and in jail! It’ll be your fault when that little boy ends up in foster care!”

Jayce could not take it anymore and quickly ended the call, unable to take her mother’s threats anymore. Trembling, she stared at the phone while tears slid down her cheeks. Mindful of her son, she turned and eased him into his infant swing because she was not sure if she would be able to hold him up in her shaking arms.

“Mommy?” Octavia’s small, innocent voice reached her ears.

Dark eyes went to the little girl, who was suddenly standing in front of Jayce. Before addressing the toddler, Jayce glanced at the television. She thought that the movie had ended, but it was still going.

“Yes, baby?” the mother asked, quickly wiping her eyes with the hope that Octavia would not see that she was crying.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine, baby. Totally fine. Come on, let’s watch the rest of your movie and then I have to get you to bed. Okay?”

Octavia seemed to know that something was up, so she just nodded. Instead of going back to singing and dancing, she curled up on the couch with her mother. Cuddling into Jayce’s side, Octavia wrapped her mother up in a loving embrace and quietly watched the rest of her show.

“Okay, bedtime, precious,” Jayce said when the movie credits were rolling.

Again, Octavia nodded. Gathering the baby in her arms, Jayce stood as did Octavia. They ascended the stairs and went to the master bedroom first. Jayce put Gus-Gus down in his crib and then lifted Octavia up to see her brother.

“’Night, Gus-Gus,” Octavia whispered and leaned into the crib to kiss the baby’s forehead.

“Now, it’s time for the princess to go to bed,” Jayce commented with a smile.

Octavia turned into her mother’s arms and nodded. Jayce carried the child to her room and laid her down in the bed. Tucking Octavia in, she then reached for a storybook.

“What shall we read tonight?” Jayce wondered aloud, opening the book and scanning the table of contents.

“Mommy?” Octavia said.

“Yes, little princess?”

“Um …” Octavia did not seem to know what she wanted to ask, her mouth open, but no words coming out. Glancing around for a few seconds, something finally came to mind. “Can you just tell me a story?” she requested.

Jayce nodded, closed the storybook, and began telling a story off of the top of her head. Telling the story kept her mind occupied for the most part. But, by the end and after she gave Octavia a kiss goodnight, her brain was stuck on the fact that her mother had called. Her mother knew where she was. Her mother was still trying to take her daughter away. Her mother was actively trying to ruin her family.

Jayce was not sure when she got into the bathroom, but she was glad that she did. She kneeled at the toilet and vomited whatever was in her stomach. Her mother was never going to leave her alone! _She’s going to hurt us all!_

-8-8-8-8-

Trevor walked his guests to the door. Gus stuck around for a couple of seconds after the guys walked off. She turned her attention to Trevor.

“I hope I didn’t get you into any trouble with Helena,” Gus said apologetically.

He shook his head and waved it off. “Don’t worry about Helena. She just needs to adjust. She’s not as open to new experiences as I am. It comes from her job where she hates surprises. She’s all about order and everything in its proper place. She’s not too sure what to do with something new,” he tried to explain.

Gus nodded, even though she was not totally sure what to make of that information. “I hope she gets used to it. I plan to be here for a long time and I had fun tonight, so I plan to be your friend for a long time too. I’m sure Jayce is the same.”

“I agree with all of that. Give her some time, Gus. She’s not a prejudice person or anything, so it’s not that she had something against your lifestyle or anything. She just needs to adjust to something new is all.”

Gus shrugged. “As long as you’re not getting into any trouble.”

“I’m not. I had a lot of fun with you tonight, Gus. You’re as cool as Jayce makes you sound. We do this every week, so consider yourself a regular now.”

She smiled. “Thanks for that. I’m not too sure Luis is gonna like that, though.”

“Luis doesn’t like much, but Ryan and Glenn love you already. You’re one of us now, bud. So, I hope you like football, basketball, and boxing because we watch those all together and you have to now since you’re in the crew.”

A chuckle escaped her. “I like sports enough to think I can sit through that.”

“We are also to always be invited to any barbeques you might have and you’re always invited to ours.”

“There’s a lot of stuff that goes along with being in this crew.”

He laughed and nodded. “The crew is deep and the responsibilities great, but you might as well give it a shot since you’re going to be around here for another few decades.”

“Sounds about right. Well, let me get home to the family.”

The friends shook hands and Gus was off. She was not surprised that the house was quiet, figuring that the kids were in bed. She poked her head into the living room, in case Jayce was there. The living room was empty, though.

Climbing the stairs, a small smile worked its way onto Gus’ face as she approached her daughter’s room. The room was bathed in the gentle glow of a nightlight to keep the monsters at bay. The nightlight also gave Octavia a gentle glow, which made her look like a little angel.

“You are so adorable, my little princess,” Gus whispered, leaning down and kissing the child’s forehead.

Octavia made a tiny noise. “Papa?” she whispered.

“Yeah, I’m home, baby.”

“Good. Missed you.”

“I missed you too. Did you keep your mommy and brother good company while I was gone?” Gus asked in a low voice.

There was a sleepy nod. “I tried. Mommy got sad, though.”

Gus blinked several times while processing that information. “Mommy got sad? Why’d Mommy get sad?”

Little shoulders shrugged. “Dunno. The phone rang and then Mommy got sad.”

Gus nodded. “Okay. It’s okay, little princess. Your papa will fix it and make sure Mommy feels better,” she vowed.

“Thanks, Papa. You’re a good papa.”

The smile that spread across Gus’ face was priceless; it looked like she had just been given a fortune in gold. “And you’re a terrific daughter. Now, go back to sleep. In the morning, everything will be better.”

Octavia nodded and was sleeping again before Gus was out of the room. The businesswoman wondered what happened to leave Jayce “sad” and figured that she would find out once she got to the bedroom. She discovered her wife, sitting at the foot of the bed in her pajamas and staring at her feet.

“Hello, my little Jay bird,” Gus said, smiling at the new nickname that she just thought of it.

“Oh, Gus!” Jayce wasted no time throwing herself on her spouse. Gus held her tight, embracing her around the waist.

“What happened, baby? What’s wrong?” the taller woman inquired in a gentle tone.

“Just hold me. Hold me close.”

Gus had no problem doing that. For a moment, she hugged Jayce as tight as she could. When it was clear that the smaller woman was still troubled, she lifted Jayce up and carried her to the bed. Putting Jayce down on the bed, she snuggled up to the ebony-haired woman and just waited for the explanation that she knew would come eventually.

“My mother called …” the caramel-skinned woman whispered.

“She did? How’d she get this number?” Gus inquired, not that she expected Jayce to know. There was also a chance that bitch Marion boasted about tracking them down. They had only moved in a week and a half ago! _Jayce can’t even have a month of peace? Unacceptable!_

“Don’t know…”

“It’s okay, baby. Tell me what happened, Jay. Tell me what she said.” Although, Gus could guess what that prejudiced, hateful bitch uttered to Jayce. 

“She’s still going after Octavia. She said … she said …” Sniffling suggested that tears were on the way.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Take your time,” Gus said, rubbing her wife’s back in a way that she knew would help relax her upset spouse. “Just remember, she can’t touch Octavia. Octie is our daughter, legally as well as emotionally. We love her and she is ours. No one else can have her. There’s no way Marion can take her.”

“It’s not just that. Baby, she threatened you. She threatened …” Jayce could not even say it, only able to look toward the crib where their precious son was sleeping. Gus understood the unsaid statement and her embrace was somehow even more protective and intimate than before.

“I would never let that happen!” Gus proclaimed in a strong, but low tone. She did not even know what the threat was, but she would kill Marion Newton before she allowed that crazy bitch to touch either of their children!

“She promised to ruin you …”

“I’d never give her the chance. You know that, sweetheart. I would never give her the chance to touch me. I don’t care how many fucking connections that bitch has. I would beat them all and just keep coming back for more. She doesn’t fucking scare me and I won’t let her scare you.”

“Gus …” Jayce was not sure what to say and just turned around, so that she could bury her face in Gus’ neck. “She’s never going to stop, is she? She’s just going to keep coming. She’s just going to keep coming until she gets Octie and gives her back to Q, who doesn’t even want her. Why doesn’t she see that? Why does she insist on giving Octie back to him? I don’t understand!”

“My dearest, sweetest, lovely Jay,” Gus cooed in a very soothing tone. “You know I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to let this woman do anything to our family. You know that. Stop worrying, my love.”

“The baby …”

“She won’t touch either of our babies. Jay, you know I won’t let anything happen to our family. Jay, look at me,” Gus ordered. There were a few sniffles before dark eyes looked up at her. Their eyes locked for a long moment.

“Gus …” The name was whispered like a prayer.

“You know I’m not going to let that woman touch our family. You know that. I haven’t let it happen and I never will let it happen. You know that,” Gus said in a stern, strong voice while clutching onto her wife.

Jayce nodded. “I’m so scared …” she admitted in a small voice.

Placing a tender kiss to her trembling wife’s forehead, Gus tried to comfort Jayce through light caresses. “Sweetheart, remember when we first went hunting for your brother to get him to terminate his parental rights, even though he had already abandoned Octie months ago?”

“I do.”

“You remember when I went to your mother’s house?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And what happened?”

“She … she threatened to have you arrested for child molestation if you insisted on helping me.”

“Did she try?” Gus asked.

“She did.”

“Did it work?”

“No.”

“Everything she’s ever tried against me has failed. Hell, everything she’s tried against you has failed. She’s just a bitter old bitch, a harridan. Listen to me, Jay, she’s not going to do anything to me. She’s not going to get our family. I’ve got this covered. Who’s the Papa around here, after all?” Gus remarked with a smile.

Jayce actually smiled. “You’re the Papa.”

“As the Papa, do I handle things like this?” Gus inquired.

Jayce sighed, but the smile remained on her face. “You can handle the Papa things.”

“Thank you. I know I can, but do I?”

“Yes, you do. You do the Papa things very well. I just got so shook up. My mother …” Jayce shook her head.

“I know how you are with your mother, baby. Just think about it like this, I handle these sort of things and you know that I can handle them. So, just let me handle these sorts of things and please don’t get scared. I will take care of us, sweetheart. You know I will,” Gus promised. “I will.”

Taking a deep breath, the younger woman nodded. “I’m sorry that I freaked out …”

“It’s okay, honey. This woman has plagued you for your whole life. She’s done nothing but torment you every second that she could, but you’re not alone in this anymore. I’m here for you and I’m not going to let anything happen to this family. You’re not going to let anything happen to this family. I know you. You’d beat her ass if she ever came close to one of the kids, which is why she bothers you over the phone, like the coward she is. Now, if she calls again, just hang up. I’ll go see about getting her number blocked, so she can’t call here anymore. And just remember that she can’t do anything with our kids. First of all, we’ve got so much junk on her that even if she did start with her, I’d bury her, baby.”

“You sure?” Jayce asked, even though she knew that everything her wife spoke was the stone cold truth. She just needed some comforting reassurance at the moment.

“Hey, who’s the Papa?” Gus countered with a grin.

Instead of verbally replying, Jayce pushed herself up to kiss her wife on the lips. Gus smiled while accepting the kiss and returning it with enough passion to kick things up a notch. When hands started reaching for Jayce’s shorts, she halted things.

“Honey, we agreed, not with Gus-Gus in the room,” Jayce reminded her spouse.

Gus groaned. “We have got to put him in the nursery soon or I’m not gonna make it!” she joked.

“Next week everything will be set up in his room and since you’re the Papa as you keep saying, you can move his crib in there and then we’ll be all set for bedroom fun,” Jayce replied.

Gus sighed. “Fine, no bedroom fun until next week. Was this my brilliant idea?”

“Yes, you wanted your little clone close to us for just a little bit longer. I thought it was so cute,” Jayce remarked, giving Gus another kiss.

The businesswoman smiled again as she accepted the kiss. That time, things did not get out of hand. Gus made a mental note to go check on the nursery and see what needed to be done. She would not be able to wait until next week to be with her beloved again.

“Gus, baby, sometimes, I think you’re too good for me,” Jayce commented in a low voice.

“Never, love. We’re perfect for each other,” Gus stated with a grin. Jayce smiled and sealed that with another kiss.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: meet some of the other neighbors.


	5. Weekend warriors

5: Weekend warriors

Jayce smiled to herself as she listened to the sound of laughter from the living room. While she was making breakfast, Gus was entertaining the children. She imagined and hoped that weekends would always like this in their new home. The sound filled her with so much joy that it distracted her from her task as she went to check in on the trio several times.

Gus was parked on the sofa with their children, blowing raspberries into Gus-Gus’s tiny belly and growling at him. The baby giggled like mad every time his mother blew into his skin. His toothless grin light up the room while his brown eyes shined with delight, obviously getting a kick out of the attention.

Octavia was sitting next to her papa, singing along with the television show that was playing. Gus was also singing when she was not blowing raspberries and bouncing around with her daughter to make sure the little girl did not feel neglected or left out. Suddenly, she turned her playfulness on unsuspecting daughter. 

“It’s Octie’s turn now!” Gus shouted and snatched the child up off of her feet.

The onyx-eyed child squealed as her papa tickled her, fingers wiggling around her little stomach. Octavia wasted no time trying to escape her terrible papa, but Gus continued to yank her back and continued on the sweet torture. Gus-Gus shouted and grinned as his sister received the same treatment that he had just been subjected to.

The “terror” was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Gus arched an eyebrow, not expecting any company. At first, she considered that it might be a mistake until the bell was rung again.

“Baby, you expecting anybody?” Gus called.

“No, I thought it might be for you. I’ve made sure to tell our friends, they won’t be getting tours of the place for at least a month,” Jayce answered.

“Well, my friends are your friends, so I don’t see why it would be for me,” Gus commented, but stood up to answer anyway. She put Octavia down and smiled at the child. “Be a good girl and watch your brother while I go to the door, okay?” she requested.

“Yes, Papa!” Octavia grinned, loving whenever she got some form of responsibility. She quickly turned a sharp eye onto Augustus to make sure nothing happened to him.

Gus could not help smiling as she stepped out of the living room. With the way the foyer was set up, she could easily see into the room, but she knew how Octavia enjoyed helping. Checking through the peephole, an eyebrow went up again as a brown eye spied two well dressed, middle-aged women at her door; one was holding a small gift basket. She had no clue who they were, but opened the door anyway.

“Hello, can I help you?” Gus inquired curiously.

For a moment, the women did not say anything. The pair, a blond and a brunette, stared at Gus as if they had never seen a woman in pajamas before. Granted, her pajamas had plenty of holes and tears in the t-shirt and ratty grey sweatpants. But, they were lived in and oh, so comfortable!

“Hi, we’re with the Community Association,” the blond spoke up, smiling brightly. Her lips glistened in the morning sun thanks to the pink lip-gloss and the shine caught Gus’ eye for just a moment.

“Community Association?” the businesswoman echoed, making sure to keep her cool. She did not like the sound of that, though. She scratched her eyebrow with her pinkie. One of the reasons that she and Jayce picked this particular neighborhood to live in was the fact that it did not have a Homeowner’s Association or anyone that would be telling them what to do with their property. Mentally sighing, she prepared herself for what new crap they had just stepped into.

“Yes, the Community Association. We tend to things around the community, like welcoming new families into the area,” the blond explained.

“Wow, a little early for welcome wagons,” Gus commented. So far the Community Association did not sound so bad, but she was going to try to get more information and see if she should be worried.

“This is true, but at least you’re awake,” she chirped. She continued smiling.

“Lady, I have two children under the age of five. I’ve been up since like three this morning,” Gus remarked with a happy smile. Really, she had woken up at three to feed her “little clone,” as Jayce liked to call him, but then she went back to sleep. Of course, until Octavia dive-bombed her three hours later.

Both women smiled. “Forgive me. I’m Angela Corrigan and this is my colleague Susan Nathans.” The blond motioned to the brunette beside her. “We are actually your neighbors, but over on the next block.”

“These are for you and your family, Miss…” Susan said with a smile of her own as she handed over the basket to the head of the house.

“I’m Gus Tucker and thank you very much.” Gus eyed what was in the basket. “My kids are going to have a field day with this.” Between the plush toys and what appeared to be candy, she was sure the basket would provide amusement for the rest of the morning.

“There should be things in there for your whole family. I hope they all enjoy it. The aftershave gel in there I’ve been told is great. Almost all of the men we’ve given it out to have switched to the exact brand,” Angela explained.

Gus chuckled. “Well, I don’t think Jayce or I will be using it, so I doubt we’ll be switching anything.”

Eyebrows went up a little bit. Blue and brown eyes opened a bit wider too. Gus could tell they were trying to figure out exactly what she meant, which tickled her a bit. She would let them play with it for a while.

“So, besides for welcoming new families in, what does the Community Association do, anyway?” Gus inquired, glancing back in the house to make sure the children were all right. Octavia was standing by Gus-Gus and watching him like a hawk. The sight made Gus smile.

Clearing her throat, Susan spoke up. “Um … Well, we organizing activities, like block parties and street fairs and things like that. We put together smaller affairs in the community center and some of the larger parks in the area. Sometimes we do contests and games. We try just to make sure neighborhood isn’t boring.”

“Oh, glad to know the neighborhood isn’t boring. My daughter has a lot of energy, so it’ll be good to keep her entertained,” Gus said. Internally, she breathed a sigh of relief now that she knew the Community Association was not some bossy committee that would tell her what kind of grass she needed to put in the front yard. It was also very nice to know they would have things to take the kids to that were close by.

“Well, we do try to put things together for small children as well as married couples. Perhaps you and your …” Angela could not even get it out, which only made Gus smile.

“I’m sure Jayce would love to get out and meet other couples. She’s pretty outgoing,” Gus said, holding in laughter as the ladies looked like they were going to faint. She could not believe that she and Jayce were the first lesbians in the neighborhood.

“Um … Well … We should let you get back to your family,” Susan managed to get out all in one breath.

“Okay, thank you again for the gift basket. Hopefully, I will see you ladies later for all of these community events you put together,” Gus said.

The pair mumbled something that Gus did not quite catch and then they hustled off of her front step. Gus chuckled a little and shook her head as she turned her attention back into the house while closing the door. Returning to the living room, she saw that Octavia was still watching her baby brother.

“Oh, you are such a good sister! Watching your brother like that!” Gus made sure to give Octavia an extra-tight hug.

“I did a good job, right, Papa?” Octavia grinned proudly.

“You know you did, sweetie!” Gus then added a kiss on the cheek, knowing that Octavia saw affection and praise as the greatest rewards she could ever get. Octavia was known to take kisses over candy.

“Who was that at the door, Gus?” Jayce inquired, stepping into the living room.

“The Community Association welcome wagon. They gave us a gift basket,” Gus announced, holding up their bounty.

“Community Association?” Jayce echoed with an arched eyebrow.

“Gift?” Octavia asked, eyes going straight to the basket.

“Yes to both. Here’s the gift.” Gus waved the basket at her daughter. Octavia reached for it, but Gus yanked it back. “There might be dangerous, non-kiddie stuff in here, Octie,” the businesswoman said.

“Gus, don’t tease the princess,” Jayce scolded her spouse.

Gus pouted while Octavia grinned in triumph. Not one to let that go, Gus reached out and tickled the child, who quickly ran to hide behind her mother. Octavia was very aware that Jayce’s legs acted like an unbreakable fence between her and her papa.

“So, what’s this Community Association about?” Jayce asked, reaching down and rubbing the top of their daughter’s head. The attention caused Octavia to smile up at her.

“Just an organization that sets up events in the neighborhood from what I understand. Nothing serious,” Gus assured her partner.

“Papa, open the gift now, please,” Octavia requested, still behind her mother’s legs. She did not trust her papa to keep her hands to herself yet.

Gus glanced at her wife, who nodded, giving her permission to open the basket. Pulling the tie, which was holding transparent green paper over the basket, the paper fell away and the goodies were revealed. Jayce and Octavia quickly dived in, wanting to see what they were given. Octavia pulled out a little stuffed animal while Jayce pulled out a mustache comb.

“So, Papa, I guess this is yours,” Jayce said, waving the small comb at her wife.

“Ha, ha, ha,” Gus deadpanned.

“Mommy, Papa, can I have this?” Octavia requested, holding up a little floppy-eared pink puppy plushy.

“May I,” Gus corrected the child.

“May I have this?” Octavia asked.

“Knock yourself out, princess. Is there something in there for little Caesar over there?” Gus asked, checking in the basket.

“Oh, car!” Octavia immediately spotted a “boy” toy. She pulled it out, but did not get a chance to give it to her brother.

“I think I’ll hold that one, princess. Gus-Gus might not be able to handle it yet,” Jayce said, taking the toy from her daughter.

“May I have it? I like cars, too!” Octavia grinned.

“You can’t have all of the toys. You have to share with your little brother,” Jayce pointed out. The little girl nodded in understanding.

“How about we eat breakfast while you two scavenge through the basket?” Gus inquired.

“Yes, breakfast is ready,” Jayce answered with a smile.

“Pancakes!” Octavia cheered, rushing to the dining room.

“Why does she always assume pancakes? I’m hoping waffles,” Gus said. While pancakes were on the top of her favorite breakfast foods, she did not seem to want them every single day like their daughter did.

“It is waffles, but since Octie thinks those are just square pancakes, it’s all pancakes to her.”

Gus nodded while Jayce picked up Gus-Gus. She passed the baby to Gus, so that the businesswoman could carry him to the dining room. Jayce went to serve while Gus smiled at Octavia, who was sitting in her chair at the table and trying to pull herself up to the table.

“Papa, help, please!” the toddler requested.

Gus wasted no time pushing the little girl up to the table. The family had a nice breakfast together while going through the gift basket and making claims on the items within. They then retreated to the living room and curled onto the sofa together. They watched a cartoon movie for Octavia and were not surprised that by the end of it, she was sleeping against Gus.

“I hope things are always like this,” Gus commented, running her fingers through their daughter’s hair.

“Well, I think things are going to change a little bit. I don’t think she’s going to stay that size forever,” Jayce remarked with a smile. The baby was sleeping against her and she glanced down at him. “I wish they did, though.”

“Me too,” Gus concurred. “But, I do want to see them get older. I hope Octie’s personality doesn’t change much, though. I want her to always feel comfortable enough to cuddle against me on the couch or just call me ‘papa’ in front of other people …” she admitted, swallowing hard at the end.

“Gus, baby, are you worried about how Octavia’s going to view you as she gets older? You know you’re her hero,” Jayce pointed out and she caressed her wife’s forearm to comfort her.

“Well … we are the only lesbians in the neighborhood. When she starts school, adults and kids alike will be talking about her having two moms. I just wonder … I wonder how our little princess will take it …” Gus explained, stroking the daughter’s hair again. How long would it be before their little princess was screaming things like, “You’re not my mom!” at her.

“I think that you’ve taught Octavia to be strong and I think that she’ll stand up for us and for herself. Trust me,” Jayce said with a smile. “She loves you so much, Gus. Just like you love her. She’s never going to feel bad that you’re her papa. Although, I think as she gets older, she might realize that you’re more her mama than a papa.”

There was a chuckle from the taller woman. “I don’t mind being the papa, but I wouldn’t mind being a mama either. I just want her to always see me as her parent. I don’t … I’m so scared that one day … She’s going to look at me …” Gus took a deep breath, unable to voice her thoughts.

Jayce touched her partner again and smiled at her. “She’s not going to change that much, sweetheart. You’ll always be her parent.”

“You say that now, but you forget, I’ve already raised a teenager. They sometimes don’t do what you think they will do.”

“Not our little princess. She’ll always be the perfect child,” Jayce quipped.

Gus laughed and could not seem to counter that, did not want to counter that. Glancing down at Octavia, she nodded in agreement. “She definitely always will be the perfect child.”

Jayce smiled and leaned over to kiss Gus’ cheek. The couple then decided to watch a movie more their speed before their perfect child woke up. Jayce moved, so that she could snuggle into Gus while making sure to avoid leaning on Octavia.

“Quiet weekends are my favorite,” the businesswoman whispered.

“Being with you is my favorite,” Jayce remarked.

“Oh, you are good.”

Jayce did not say anything and they remained cuddled together until Octavia was up and running again. Gus eventually exited the living room to go tend to matters upstairs; she did not explain what she was going to do. After a while, she returned and decided to give Jayce a break and take the children outside.

“Take a breath for an hour or two, okay?” Gus said to her wife as they stood by the door. Octavia bolted by them right into the front yard.

“I’ll try. Maybe I’ll get some work done,” Jayce figured.

“Whatever you want to do. Don’t worry about us.”

Jayce nodded and Gus stepped outside with Gus-Gus in her arms. Jayce watched Gus set up a play area for the baby, putting down a blanket in the grass and setting his favorite toys on it. Octavia was happy to just run around the yard, but Gus wheeled out the girl’s tricycle for her in case she wanted to ride.

“This is a good life,” Jayce said to herself, as she often said since meeting Gus. She then walked off to her office, wanting to get some work done while she had the time to do so.

-8-8-8-8-

Gus waved as some neighbors walked by the front yard. The pair, possibly a couple, stopped for a moment and waved back at her. Gus, knowing the neighborhood was full of friendly and equally nosy people, figured that she might as well introduce herself.

“Hey, there, neighbors,” Gus greeted them, pushing herself off of the front steps and going to the duo.

“Hi, we heard that someone just bought this place. You already have it looking better than the last couple that lived here,” the man said. He was tall guy with lean muscles that were somewhat on display thanks to his t-shirt and shorts. She suspected that they had been jogging since the shirt was somewhat drenched.

“We own the house down on the end of the street,” the woman added in. “I’m Jane and this is my husband Mark,” she introduced them.

“I’m Gus and those are my kids,” Gus replied, pointing to Octavia, who was having a grand time spinning in a circle, while Gus-Gus was eating the corner end of his blanket.

“They’re adorable. If only they were a little older, they could play with our kids,” Jane said.

“I’m sure your neighbor is happy for some younger kids, though. Trevor always worried about Travis playing around with our boy,” Mark said. “I understand how he feels. I mean, our boy is nine. He’s much bigger and rougher than Travis is. I wouldn’t want Chris playing with someone four years older than he is.”

“Speaking of Trevor, you should watch yourself around him. He likes making plays to new women,” Jane commented and it seemed like she was joking, but it was hard for Gus to tell. The sparkle in Jane’s blue eyes could be from teasing or it could be from gossip.

“I’ve met Trevor already and he’s an upstanding guy,” Gus defended her friend. She would have said more, but Octavia falling caught her eyes. “Princess, you okay?”

“Dizzy, Papa. My tummy …” the child groaned, apparently having made herself sick from spinning to much. “Papa …” she whined, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

“Oh, sweetie, stay there. I’ll run you inside and make Mommy can kiss it all better,” Gus told the girl, knowing that as far as Octavia was concerned a kiss from Jayce cured everything.

“Want Mommy, Papa…” Octavia moaned.

“Okay, I’ll take you to Mommy,” Gus said and then she turned her attention back to the neighbors. “Sorry, I’ve got to handle this. It was nice meeting you.”

Gus rushed off to grab both of her children and get them in the house. She heard her neighbors as they walked off discussing the fact that Octavia had called her “papa” while referring to someone else as “mommy.” The last word she heard from them was “lesbians” and she guessed that she and Jayce would be news for a while, just as promised.

After saving Octavia from her “dizzy sickness” with several kisses from Jayce, the trio returned outside. Octavia decided to ride her tricycle while Gus-Gus was back on the blanket. Travis seemed to appear out of nowhere and shot across his front yard to play with Octavia. Trevor showed up seconds later.

“Howdy, buddy,” Trevor greeted Gus as he walked over to her.

“Hey,” she replied, moving over some to make room on the front steps for him. He took the silent invitation and sat down.

“So, you pull weekend duty while Jayce relaxes or something?” he asked curiously.

“Not really. She’s getting some work done while I have a good time watching the kids. I don’t spend nearly enough time with them by my count since I work.”

There was a nod. “That’s how Helena feels with Travis sometimes. The night when I have poker games with you and the guys, Helena always takes Travis some place for the evening to spend time with her. It’s the one time she refuses to let work or anything bother her.”

“She sounds like a good mother.”

“She is. She gets scared that she isn’t, but she loves Travis and she takes care of him. She’s a good mom. She’s a good person, Gus. Again, she just needs to adjust.”

“What’s she doing, anyway? Working even on the weekend?” Gus inquired.

“Yeah, some idiot completely blew a proposal, so she has to fix it and hope they can keep a client that already has one foot out the door. She’s dedicated to keeping a roof over our heads,” he remarked with a grin.

There was a nod and the two parents were content with watching their children play. Gus had to get up a few times as Gus-Gus crawled off of his blanket; he seemed fond of trying to eat the lawn. Gus let him go each time she got him; she just wanted to make sure he did not put anything bad in his mouth. She figured once he found out how awful grass tasted, he would stop trying to eat it on his own.

“You know, Octavia is a nice kid,” Trevor commented, watching as Octavia practically insisted Travis have a ride on her tricycle.

“She likes sharing. She’s been a happy kid since I’ve known her and she likes making other people happy. I guess that’s just her personality,” Gus replied with a shrug.

“I hope she stays like that, but she doesn’t end up a pushover.”

“I don’t think we have to worry about that. You’ve gotten a chance to see her nice side because she wants to do everything with Travis, but let’s say a big kid came around and started picking on Travis.”

“Which could happen.”

“Octie would defend him to her last breath and she’s not below hitting either. She hates it when people are mean to her friends and Travis is most definitely her friend.”

He nodded. “I still expect a huge dowry,” he remarked.

Gus laughed and they sat there for a while longer until a car pulled into Trevor’s driveway. Gus did not bother too look over, but she had a feeling that Helena was glaring at her as she got out of the car. Trevor stood up, making it clear that he was about to leave.

“It was nice hanging out with you, Gus. I’ll see you later,” Trevor said.

“No problem. Take care,” Gus replied.

“Mom!” Travis called, charging over to the woman as she got out of the car. He leaped into her arms and Gus smiled at the action. She was pretty sure that someone who could get such a happy reaction out of a child could not be all bad. _Of course, I could be wrong_ , she thought as Helena shot her a death glare.

Helena hustled her family into the house while Gus went back to watching her children. A little while later, Jayce came out and settled into the spot next to her wife. Gus’ arm seemed to automatically go around her shoulders.

“How’s it going out here?” Jayce asked. 

“Octie is having a ball and Gus-Gus keeps trying to eat the grass. Is he part cow by any chance?” Gus joked.

“He gets that from you,” Jayce countered, nudging her wife with her shoulder.

Gus smiled, but did not say anything. They quietly watched their children and also noted around them that their neighbors seemed pretty interested in them. The interest only caused them to cuddle closer.

“I like weekends like this, Gus. It’s almost like being in a sitcom … without a bunch of corny punch lines,” Jayce said.

“I hope there’s not too much drama to go along with all of this serenity. I like this too, but I don’t like being watched as if things are so interesting because we’re two women raising two wonderful children,” Gus replied. She could not believe how many people were peeking out of their windows or wandering by every few minutes, staring at them as if they did not know what to make of the family.

Jayce smiled a bit. “I’m sure we’ll get boring after a while. Or maybe some gay men will move in.”

Gus burst out laughing at that and a smile remained on her face. As the sun began to set, they both gathered the children and made sure their things were in the yard before going back into the house. Gus went to bathe the kids while Jayce got started on dinner. _This is a good life_ , they both thought.

-8-8-8-8- 

Yawning, Gus flopped into bed and grinned to herself, waiting for Jayce to enter. Her wife was making sure the house was locked up, even though Gus had already done that. Not that they even needed to do that in their new neighborhood; of course, they both felt better about it.

“Gus, did you put your clone to bed?” Jayce inquired, speaking from the hallway.

“Yup,” Gus answered with a grin, moving up the bed to rest on the pillows. She stretched up just in time for Jayce to see her as she entered the room.

“What are you doing?” Jayce inquired with a wrinkled brow. “You look silly.”

“Silly?” Gus turned her mouth up, looking a little offended. “You sure you don’t mean sexy?”

“Hard for you to be sexy when your shirt has a hole in the armpit,” Jayce pointed out.

Gus balked and checked her t-shirt to see that she did have a huge hole in the armpit. Recovering quickly, she continued to smile. “Oh, no problem. I’ll just take it off,” she said.

Jayce was about to call her spouse’s bluff, but the t-shirt came up before she could open her mouth. It was on the floor within a second and dark eyes were open wide in the same time. Gus smiled as she arched her back, showing off her light blue lace bra.

“Gus, what’re you doing? The baby!” Jayce managed and she turned her head in the direction of the crib, only to see that it was not there. Her head snapped back to her lounging wife. “Where’s the baby?” she inquired.

“In the nursery. I moved the crib earlier,” Gus boasted with a proud look.

“What? When?”

“Doesn’t matter. Now, how about you come join me and get a sample of my finest new set of undies.”

“New?” Jayce swallowed hard, blinking as if she did not understand what was going on.

“You know, baby, I could get a complex with the way you’re just standing there instead of jumping into bed with me and checking out my new underwear,” Gus teased and wiggled a bit.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Jayce hurried over to the bed, climbing on the edge and then moving like a stalking cat. She crawled up and over Gus, leaving a hair’s width of space between their bodies.

“Being this close and not touching me isn’t making things any better,” Gus remarked.

“Oh, but this will make up for all of that,” Jayce promised before leaning in for a soul-scorching kiss.

Gus moaned as her spouse’s tongue invaded her mouth and plundered her for all she was worth. By the time Jayce pulled away, Gus was panting for breath. Jayce could not help smiling proudly.

“That was … amazing,” Gus sighed contently.

“Oh, so all of my other kisses aren’t amazing?” Jayce taunted her wife, figuring it would be good pay back.

“No, all of your kisses are amazing. Can I have another?”

Jayce quickly obliged. With her mouth occupying Gus’, her hands wandered her wife’s body with reckless abandon. She swallowed all of Gus’ moans and groans. By the time she pulled away, Gus was arching into her body, begging for more.

“I think I should take a closer look at these undies you were bragging about,” Jayce suggested.

Gus could only manage a nod and Jayce slid down her body, taking Gus’ bra with her. Light kisses and caresses seemed to float all across Gus’ skin and all she could do was beg for more. The pleading got a devilish smile out Jayce and Gus smiled in return when she noticed the expression.

“I’m going to take really good care of you, baby. I promise,” Jayce whispered before making good on her vow.

-8-8-8-8-

“Sweetheart, you weren’t lying when you said you’d take really good care of me. I can’t even feel my legs anymore,” Gus remarked with a worn out smile as Jayce snuggled up close to her. Her smile grew as she felt Jayce’s flesh pressed up against her own nude form.

“It’s been a while since we’ve let loose like that,” Jayce commented, settling against her wife’s shoulder.

“Well, we did make a lot of noise.”

“I’m glad we didn’t wake up the kids. But, we are going to have to get up and get dressed before we do fall asleep. We don’t want the princess to wander in here and ask why we’re sleeping naked,” Jayce pointed out.

“Knowing her, she’d want to do it too.”

“Making it worse, she’d want to do it while sharing our bed, which would be way too creepy for me,” Jayce stated.

Gus shuddered. “Gross, baby! Don’t say things like that while I’m trying to bask in the afterglow!”

A low chuckle escaped Jayce and then she proceeded to make things up to Gus by gently fondling her. The taller woman whimpered and moaned. Jayce moved her head and kissed her wife’s neck, which got a mew out of Gus.

“I like making you purr,” Jayce whispered.

“I like it too,” Gus groaned.

“But, no more of that. We have to go to bed,” Jayce said, abruptly pulling away.

“Wha—what?” Gus gasped, unable to switch off as Jayce’s body left her own. “What are you doing?”

“Going to sleep. You should do the same. Your clone will be up shortly wanting food and in a few hours, Octie will be jumping on us to get up,” Jayce explained, as if that all made perfect sense.

“What? You think I care about that after you’ve gotten me started? This is the first time we’ve had our room to ourselves since we moved in and I’m going to make the most of it!” Gus declared as she rolled over, ending up on top of Jayce.

Jayce was going to argue and tease Gus further, but she was not given the chance. Before she could get a word out, Gus’s lips were on hers and Gus’ hands were everywhere as far as she could tell. The best she could manage in the way of sounds were pleased moans and begging cries.

-8-8-8-8-

“Papa!” Octavia shouted as she charged into the bedroom. Crawling up on the bed in a manner that made her parents believe that she had to be part monkey, Octavia wasted no time leaping onto her papa.

Gus groaned and shut her eyes tight, hoping that would be a good signal to get her four-year-old to go away. Of course, that was not the case and Octavia began shaking her, calling for her to wake up. Across from her, she could hear Jayce laughing; it was something that she had done a couple of hours ago when Jayce got up to feed Augustus.

“Octie, have mercy on your papa,” Gus groaned.

“C’mon, papa! Get up!” Octavia implored, grabbing her papa by the shoulder and shaking Gus as best she could.

“Jay, get your daughter …” Gus muttered, reaching for her wife.

“She’s your daughter before breakfast just like Gus-Gus was my son before the sun comes up,” Jayce replied, repeating a phrase that Gus had told her a couple of hours ago.

“I was joking when I said that!”

“Papa, get up! Get up, get up, get up, get up!” Octavia chanted.

Gus groaned and rolled over, causing the hyper toddler to fall to the side. Gus made sure to catch the child before she fell off of the bed. Yawning, she sat up.

“Time to start the day again,” Gus said with a smile. She hoped that it was just like the day she had yesterday.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Gus and Jayce get a visitor. 


	6. Surprise visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Power Rangers and McDonalds are mentioned in this chapter. I don’t own those, but I’m sure you knew that.

6: Surprise visit 

Leaving for the work in the morning tickled Gus now that she and her family were somewhat known in their neighborhood. They had not been there a month yet, but it seemed like everyone on their block knew the Tucker family. They all seemed to be curious about the Tuckers and watched them intently whenever they could. So, now, when Gus left the house for work, she could feel all of the neighbors’ eyes directly on her and her little farewell routine with her family. It was like something out of a TV show, where Gus had to hug both children and kiss Jayce at the door before she could possibly consider having a good day.

Gus enjoyed scanning the neighbors’ houses as she went to the car, wanting to see how many people were looking at her. It was usually a few people, as if Gus and her family were truly entertaining. It allowed Gus to drive off with an amused smile on her face.

Jayce was not as amused and made it a point not to see if the neighbors were watching. It would only worry her if she knew the exact number of people that thought the Tuckers were an anomaly of some kind. So, she turned her attention to her children.

“Well, my little princess, what should we do this morning?” Jayce inquired with a smile.

“See Travie?” Octavia proposed with a grin.

“Okay, we can do that. But, in order to do that, what do we have to do?”

“Get dressed!” Octavia was off up the stairs before Jayce had a chance to confirm that was the correct answer.

The mother smiled as she followed Octavia upstairs. She was not surprised that by the time she entered the child’s room, Octavia already had several outfits pulled out and littering the floor. It was a habit she picked up from Gus, who scattered outfits when she needed something formal to wear.

“Mommy, I wanna wear these!” Octavia decided, holding up some jeans and duck-covered light blue shirt.

Jayce nodded, even though she was thinking about how she was going to wring Gus’ neck for providing their daughter with small steps that allowed her to reach into her closet. She put Augustus down on the bed and then helped Octavia get into her chosen outfit.

Once the little girl was dressed, Jayce had to call Trevor to see if he and Travis were up and ready for a visit. “Hey, Trevor, it’s Jayce. Sorry if I seem to be calling so early.”

“Not at all. The little dude gets up early to watch some crazy TV show that looks like the Power Rangers, but isn’t, and he likes to spend a little time with his mom before she leaves. So, I’ve been up for a while now,” Trevor explained.

“Oh, that’s good. Octie was wondering if she could see her friend.”

“I don’t know if he’ll want to leave the TV for a while since his show comes on like five times in a row for whatever reason. You could bring her over here and then after the show is over, he can drag her around to see his room and his photo albums and things,” Trevor remarked with a laugh.

Jayce laughed too. “Sounds fine.”

“Then come on over.”

Jayce agreed and went to put some clothes on Gus-Gus while Octavia decided on what shoes she wanted to wear. Octavia was much like her papa when it came to picking clothes and shoes; the shoes needed to be just right for the outfit. How a four-year-old decided what was just right was beyond Jayce, but Heaven help the house if Octavia could not find the perfect footwear.

Augustus was placed into a tan onesy with a dancing hamster on it and then put into some “baby jeans,” as Jayce liked to call them. His feet were enclosed in padded socks and then she had to get dressed, which she did quickly. By the time she was done, Octavia was standing in her doorway, waiting.

“C’mon, Mommy! Play outside with Travie!” Octavia declared, waving her mother out of the room.

“Okay, Octavia. Just be patient and let me get your brother,” Jayce replied, retrieving the little boy from a play mat on the bedroom floor. She also made sure to grab her baby bag, even though she was only going next door.

With the baby in hand, the small group set out for their visit. Trevor and Travis welcomed them into their home with open arms. Travis grabbed Octavia by the hand, eager to show her his “the bestest TV show ever!” Jayce could not help laughing. 

“Well, I don’t have the bestest TV show ever to show you, but if you want, I think I can find something to entertain us for the million years they’ll be sitting in front of the TV,” Trevor quipped.

“It’s fine,” Jayce replied. Of course, she felt differently after an hour of the very strange show where all of the characters seemed to do nothing but yell, run, and jump into everything. “How much longer until this show is over?” she inquired, begging Trevor for some good news.

“There’s still like three or four more episodes. I know, it’s like someone took every random thought they ever had and put them into cartoon form, right?” Trevor said.

“It is. I don’t even know who the main character is in this. How can you let Travis watch this?”

“Despite the randomness of it, he learns things from it. One episode taught him how to tie his shoe and I think another episode might have taught him how to build a nuclear sub. I’m not too sure.”

“Oh, was that what that sharing piece was about? That was the learning bit?”

“I’m sure it was. I think we might have missed it. I think this cartoon might actually be designed to screw with adults’ minds while somehow getting through to a child’s brain. I don’t know how they do it, though.”

Jayce nodded and agreed. “Any adult conversation that we can talk about to make it through this insanity?”

Trevor shrugged. “Hmmm … We can talk about married life.”

“Oh, god, don’t make it seem like that’s the only thing we have in common. Come now, surely there’s something we can discuss.”

There was a nod. “Oh, I was curious about something, but it’s personal.”

“Well, you can put it out there and find out if I’ll share.”

Smiling, he decided to go for it. “At poker night, Gus revealed some of the things that she did upon first meeting you.”

“And you want to know if any of it was true?” Jayce arched an eyebrow as a teasing smirk settled onto her face.

“Did she really get you fired?” he asked quickly.

Jayce laughed. “Is that the only thing she told you guys?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose that was just about the least offensive thing she did when we met. But, yes, she did get me fired. She did plenty of other things, but I don’t think I know you well enough to share that yet. But, I can tell you, in retrospect, I’m glad for everything that she did when we first encountered each other. Every couple has a rough patch. We had ours before relationship even started,” Jayce remarked.

“I suppose you make a point there,” he concurred with a smile. “I can’t wait to hear the rest of that story. So, got any hobbies I should know about or have you gotten like me where all hobbies revolve around the kids?”

“A little both. I don’t have any real hobbies, but I like doing just about anything with my family, Gus or the kids. I like hanging out with my friends. I prefer doing that with Gus. I’m also like tinkering with things, but it’s not really a hobby.”

“Tinkering?”

“You know, if there’s something broken in the house, I’ll try to fix it.”

“Oh, so you’re the one I ask if I need tools and not the ‘papa’?” he asked with a teasing smile.

“No, the papa can do it too, but I do it more. Even though we play around that Gus is the ‘papa,’ you do realize our relationship doesn’t break down like that, right?” she countered.

“I’m starting to get the idea. You two don’t have the ‘she’s the guy and you’re the girl’ thing. See? I’m learning.” He grinned proudly.

She chuckled and was surprised that they survived three more episodes of the crazy show thanks to a long conversation about nothing at all really. After that, the children wanted to go outside and play. Augustus started fussing and crying as they all stepped out of the house.

“I have to go and feed him,” Jayce told Trevor.

“Take your time. I can watch them play in the front yard on my own … unless they tie me up and blindfold me somehow,” he replied with a smile.

“I wouldn’t put it pass the little princess.”

He laughed, but waved her off. “No, but seriously, I got them. Take your time.”

Jayce nodded. “Would it bother you to watch them for about an hour? I’d like to get a little work done while Octavia is distracted.”

He waved her off again and smiled. “No problem, but if she ties me up, it’ll cost extra.”

There was a laugh. “You can have two ice creams from the freezer.”

“That is a huge bonus.” He grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your little girl. Get some work done. We can trade on this. Tomorrow, you could watch them for a while and I can get some work done?”

She nodded. “That sounds good. I think this is going to work out.”

“Hey, us working house … folks need to stick together.”

“House-folks? You don’t want to be a housewife?” she asked with a teasing smile.

He laughed. “I think at this point it’s almost accurate for me.”

Smiling, she walked off into the house, feeling like she had made the right decision. Trevor seemed to be a great guy and they had spent a lot of time together since meeting that first day over three weeks ago.

-8-8-8-8-

“Mister Trevor, where Mommy go?” Octavia asked, trotting over to the only adult outside now. She seemed to notice her mother was gone almost immediately. Jayce had barely made it into the house, after all.

“Your mom just went inside to feed your brother. I’m sure the door is open if you want to go inside with her,” Trevor answered honestly.

Octavia glanced at the house and then back to her friend, who was standing a foot behind her. It did not seem to take a whole lot of thought as she turned back to Travis and ran over to him. Trevor smiled and shrugged.

Watching the children was not too difficult. It was almost boring. Yes, they were blazing balls of energy, but all they really did was chase each other. At one point, Travis did try to get Octavia to dig for worms, but Octavia seemed rather offended by that; she would get her shirt dirty!

“Dirt doesn’t hurt,” Travis pointed out, holding a clump of rich, dark soil.

“Mommy and Papa don’t like it,” Octavia replied.

Trevor thought that they might have a little argument, but they just turned around and continued running. Trevor yawned and watched the kids dip into the backyard and then back into the front yard. As time past, Trevor yawned again in boredom, but found things getting interesting as an unknown, fancy car pulled in front of Jayce’s house.

“What’s going on here?” Trevor murmured to himself as he watched an attractive young woman climb out of the car. She flicked long brown hair over her shoulder while donning sunglasses and smoothing out her short skirt. Without sparing a glance around the neighborhood, she marched up Jayce’s door. She was given entry quickly and Jayce did not bother to wave to him or explain what was going on.

Trevor shook his head and tried to dismiss what he just saw. It was probably nothing, he quietly assured himself. Of course, it was hard to push that when time went by and Jayce did not return and that woman did not leave the house. Things got a little more interesting as noon approached and Gus pulled up to the house, more than likely seeking lunch with her family. He waved to her as she exited her car.

“Howdy, neighbor,” Gus remarked, waving at him.

“Hey, I got your kid over here, running my boy ragged,” Trevor commented.

“That’s what she does,” Gus smiled as she marched over. “Where’s Jay?” Hazel eyes scanned the yard for her spouse.

“Oh, she went inside to do some work …” Trevor said, hoping that he could keep Gus there for a while. He was not sure why, but he wanted to protect his new friend … both of his new friends.

Gus nodded and glanced back at the house. There was no way that she could have missed the car parked in front because of the way that she turned. He sighed and laughed awkwardly.

“She was probably going to work on my accounts, even though I wish she didn’t. She usually does that when she thinks I’ll be gone the whole day. I can’t stop her if that’s what she wants to do.” Gus shrugged.

“You have a personal accountant that you don’t want handling your finances? Weirdo,” he teased.

“I don’t want to stress her out, but that’s just me being overprotective, which is one of my problems. How long was she working before my sister showed up?” Gus inquired.

“Sister?” he echoed.

“The owner of that car.” Gus pointed to the vehicle in front of her house. “That’s my sister.”

“Oh!” He guffawed. “Good to know. I didn’t know what to make of that or how to approach the subject that Jayce was inside with a strange woman.”

“Yeah, it’s just my sister. Good to know you would try to tell me if something was up, though. Was she alone or was there a snobby-looking woman on her arm?”

“Alone. Why?”

Gus snorted. “I don’t like my sister’s girlfriend and life is always better when she doesn’t show up with that annoying woman. But, yeah, how long has she been here?”

“Wait, your sister is a lesbian too?” he asked with his lip curled up as if going “huh?”

“Yes, she’s also a lesbian. But, you’re missing the point. How long has she been here? Jay doesn’t enjoy dealing with her for a long time on her own,” Gus said.

“Why is that?”

Gus shook her head. “It’s very complicated. I don’t want to go into that just yet. Let’s just say that they have a history. Jannie, my sister, and Jay both try to get along, but sometimes things can get a little strained. I should probably get in there.”

“Yeah, because it’s been like an hour. Jayce didn’t even come back out to check on Octie,” he informed her.

“Shit. They’re probably arguing then,” Gus sighed. “Hey, Octie, little princess, wanna go see Aunt Jannie?” she called to the child.

The question stopped Octavia right in her tracks and she turned at the sound of her papa’s voice. “Aunt Jannie?”

“Yes, Aunt Jannie is visiting Mommy right now. Wanna go with me to see her?” Gus proposed.

“Uh …” Dark eyes glanced over at Travis before turning back to her parent. “I can come back?”

“Of course you can come back. It’s actually lunchtime right now, though. So, we can go have lunch and let Travis and his daddy have lunch. You can meet back here in a couple of hours,” Gus said, that last part was more to Trevor.

“Couple of hours?” he echoed.

“She’s going to need a nap. As soon as she settles down for a second, it all hits her and she knocks out for about an hour,” Gus explained.

He nodded. “Sounds good. Come on, Travis, we’ll go eat some lunch and come back out later,” he said, walking over to the boy.

The children waved their farewells and Gus picked Octavia up. They went into the house and Gus could see her wife and sister in the living room. She could see the stony expression on Jayce’s face and she knew what that meant. She decided that a happy distraction was needed and put Octavia down.

“Go greet your aunt,” Gus ordered in a low voice.

“Auntie!” Octavia grinned as she bolted into the living room and latched onto her aunt’s legs.

“Hey, biscuit!” Jannie grinned, showing off perfect teeth, as she scooped up the toddler. She hugged the child tightly for a moment before releasing her.

“Bring me candy?” Octavia asked. Whenever Jannie showed up, sweet treats for Octavia always followed.

“You know I did!” Jannie replied, going into her purse and pulling out a chocolate bar. Before the candy made into Octavia’s waiting hands, Gus intercepted it.

“After lunch,” Gus told the little girl.

“Papa!” Octavia pouted.

“Is it lunchtime?” Jayce asked. “I should get something prepared. How long are you staying, Gus?” The accountant rose to her feet and made her way to the kitchen.

“I figured I’d stay a couple of hours. I have to go back to the office for a meeting. But, for the next two hours, I’m all about my family!” Gus declared, eyes locked on her sister.

“You are big into family. Or, I would think anyway, but you haven’t invited me out to your house yet and you’ve lived here for almost a month!” Jannie complained.

Gus scratched her eyebrow with her pinkie and shrugged. “We just wanted to enjoy the house for a while as our own little family unit. I explained that to you before we moved,” she said, flopping down on the couch. Octavia took that as a sign to climb into her lap and the child began playing with her papa’s hand to busy herself.

“You know I feel left out …” Jannie pouted.

“You feel left out or are you just lonely? Where’s Toni?”

“Toni’s at work. It’s the middle of the day, Gus. Not everyone can just leave work whenever they feel like it as we can.”

“We? I was unaware that you were your own boss,” Gus commented, teasing mostly.

“I’m in really good with my boss, though. Well, I like to think I am, but my boss hasn’t invited me to her house yet, as if I don’t miss her and my niece and my nephew,” Jannie retorted with a smile, reaching to tickle Octavia a little.

The child giggled while Gus rolled her eyes. Her sister was much better with Octavia now than years ago when Jayce was in a relationship with Jannie and dared suggest that they be responsible for the girl since her father was more interested in drugs than her life. Jannie had seemed almost offended by the thought of taking care of the then baby. So, really, she had nowhere to go but up as far as it went with her attitude toward Octavia. She was much more comfortable with her role of being an aunt than with the idea of being a possible primary caregiver.

“Oh, please, you could’ve come and picked up your niece and nephew whenever you wanted to,” Gus replied, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t try to win me over with facts. You never invited me over,” Jannie huffed, going so far as to puff out her cheeks.

“Well, you're here now. So, is this a completely social visit or is there a method to your madness?” Gus teased.

“A little of both. I wanted to see the house and I wanted to tell you that your friends are all plotting to swarm the place on Friday. They'll be showing up with gifts and drinks, so you might want to break out the grill.”

Gus groaned. “I told those fatheads to mind their own business for at least a month.”

“Yeah, but they listen about as well as I do, so get ready for it.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Gus sighed and shook her head. “Jay is not going to be happy about this.”

“Why not? Doesn't she like entertaining anymore?”

“She's fine with it, but she wanted a month or more with us having the place to ourselves. This is going to break the peace.”

Jannie nodded, but suddenly waved it off. “Yeah, but once you get it out of the way, they won't be over that often and you guys can go back to your lives of domestic bliss.”

“I suppose. Or I could call them all and threaten them.”

“Should you be thinking aloud with my biscuit in your lap?”

Gus glanced down at her daughter, seeing that Octavia was much more interested in going through her keys more than anything else. But, she decided to stop thinking aloud with the little girl there. Lovingly petting her daughter’s head, she figured it was done and her sister had a point.

“I guess what's done is done. Jay still isn't going to be happy, though.”

Jannie nodded. “I suppose. Oh, sorry, I came over so early. I don't know why I thought you'd be home.”

“It's fine. You and Jay didn't blow the house up or anything.”

“Lunch,” Jayce called, ending the conversation for the moment.

The family gathered in the kitchen to have lunch. There was roasted chicken, rice, and macaroni and cheese. They pulled up to the island in the kitchen in order to eat.

“You guys have a robust lunch,” Jannie joked.

“It's leftovers from last night,” Gus explained.

“Still, you guys are obviously eating well. Toni and I eat out most of the time,” Jannie informed them.

“McDonalds?” Octavia asked with big, dreamy eyes.

Jannie laughed because of the expression. “You guys still don't let the poor kid eat McDonalds?”

“She gets it as a treat every once and a while, but it's never going to be a habit,” Jayce replied, putting an arm around her daughter.

“Poor kid,” Jannie teased.

“Well, she's our poor kid,” Jayce said with a little more snap than she meant to. Being with Jannie always brought that out of her. She did not understand why. She was way over Jannie and she accepted that Jannie was always going to be in her life, so she could not figure out why the younger woman continued to rub her the wrong way by merely existing.

That seemed to stop conversation for a while and when it started up again, it was about the usual things. “How's the spa going?” Gus asked her sister. The younger Tucker managed a spa that Gus owned.

“It's going good. I think I'm going to start some special promotions for the summer. I'll run them by you as soon as I settle on what I want to do,” Jannie answered.

“Okay. Sounds good. I think I'm going to stop by sometime next week. I need a facial. Jay, you want to come?” Gus asked. “We’ll get one of the staff members to watch the kids so you don’t feel rushed to leave.”

“I would love to. Are you sure your staff won't mind watching the kids?”

“The spa staff adores the kids. They'll be fine.”

The rest of the visit was pretty benign. Octavia was put down for a nap minutes after she finished lunch. Augustus fell asleep in his chair while trying to figure out why he could not fit his whole fist in his mouth. Jannie left as soon as the kids were down and the married couple ended up on the sofa.

“I'm sorry Jannie just popped up on you,” Gus apologized, holding onto her wife and cuddling into her.

“It's fine. I don't know why she still gets to me the way that she does. I mean, her breaking up with me was the best thing to happen to me, next to me deciding to trust you and go home with you. We have a beautiful house, loving family, wonderful children, and a very fulfilling relationship, so why the hell does seeing Jannie for extended periods of time still get to me?” Jayce wondered aloud.

“I don't know. Maybe she just reminds you of the bad times. She's getting better, though. She's very good with Octie now and loves Gus-Gus to death.”

Jayce nodded. “I'm guessing they're easier to love when you're not expected to take care of them. She is a good aunt. She wouldn't have been a good mother, at least not then. Your sister has been getting better.”

“Yeah, which is why I don't understand why she's with Toni. Could there be a bigger, selfish bitch in this world … aside from my ex anyway?”

“Oh, please, don't start with Amanda, baby. I don't even want to think about how messed up she is and how she left you a wreck.”

Gus waved it off. “It's fine because thanks to that I was available to you when you needed me. Hell, she's sort of the reason we met.”

“But, we would've met anyway since I was dating your sister.”

“I think without things going the way that they did, we wouldn't be where we are. So, everything worked out fine.”

“I agree, so why am I still so ill-at-ease with Jannie?”

“Again, I don't know. I still says she reminds you of bad times. You had hit a low point and then she sort of stuck the dagger in you and twisted it around several times. Don't think about. What you do need to think about is the nature of Jannie's visit. Did she tell you why she came over?” Gus asked.

“No, she mostly just talked about how she wanted to see you and how Toni is getting on her nerves,” Jayce reported with a smile, knowing Gus would like to hear that news.

“Tell me you talked her into breaking up with Toni,” Gus begged, putting her hands together as if she was praying.

Chuckling, Jayce shook her head. “I would never do that, but I did listen as she complained about every single immature thing Toni has done the past few months. Jannie is growing a lot, but she's still somewhat the same person I dated. She and Toni mostly argue about where they're going to go out, what they’re going to do, and how often they’re going to do it. She says it seems like Toni is purposely picking fights with her, hoping that one day she'll just stop arguing.”

Hazel eyes rolled and Gus snorted. “I think Toni will find that the impossible task. Well, she told me that our friends plan to ambush us this Friday with gifts and to see the house.”

“No!” Jayce whined. “I don't want to share our paradise yet.” She put on an exaggerated pout. “Can't you fix this, Gus? Is this a papa problem?”

Gus laughed. “I think we need to just get it out of the way. Once they see what the place looks like, that it's just a house, they'll be satisfied and we can all move on.”

Jayce sighed. “I suppose. So, what do we have to do?”

“Fire up the grill and make sure we keep the rooms locked. You know how nosy they can be.”

There was a chuckle from the shorter woman. “This is what happens when you know a bunch of women and gay men,” she joked.

“That would be the curse. So, do you want me to do anything or what?”

“I want you to come shopping with me tomorrow, so we can get ready for this. Do we even have a grill?”

“I'll go buy one. We'll need one anyway. You have to tell me what kind since you'll be doing the grilling.”

“Hey, that is definitely a papa job!”

Gus smiled. “But, we know what happens when food, fire, and me are involved.”

Jayce nodded. “You make a point. I'll go with you to buy the grill too then. Should we let our friends know that we live in a somewhat conservative neighborhood and I doubt anyone has seen this many gay people in one place?”

The businesswoman could not help laughing loudly. “They’ll chase us all out of here by the end of the night. But, at least they’ll have something to talk about.”

“At least Rico and Daquan will make sure we’ll look fabulous as the neighbors drive us out of here with torches and pitch folks,” Jayce chuckled.

“Oh, please, there’ll be too many dykes there to make that getaway anything more than a brawl.”

Jayce laughed again, but she agreed. They were going to have to plan quickly, but they were both going to be happy to see their friends. It was all right that they were going to be invaded on the weekend.

-8-8-8-8-

“Hey, buddy,” Gus said to Trevor as she unleashed Octavia into the front yard to run wild with Travis.

“What’s up?” Trevor inquired.

“Since you adopted me into your circle of friends, I feel I should let you know we’re having a barbeque Friday, very much against our will, but it would be cool if you and the guys could come. You might want to leave Luis behind, though. While all of our friends aren’t gay, a hell of a whole lot of them are and they will be there with significant others,” she informed her neighbor.

“Oh, sounds exciting. A lesbian barbeque,” he remarked with a teasing smile, earning a chuckle.

“We just call ‘em barbeques. And, sorry, but there will be more than lesbians there. We know some gay men and a few straight people. You’ll have fun, though. Bring the wife and kid too. She can network and he can bug out with Octie and her horrible little gang.”

“You drive a hard bargain. I mean, networking for the wife, kids for the kid, and barbeque for me. Are you going to have a beer fountain there too? Every type of buffalo wing? Wall to wall coverage of every game playing on Friday?”

There was more laughter. “You’re now asking way too much of me. Just show up on Friday and make sure you tell your wife that she can network. This way, she can make sure the evil lesbians don’t try to molest you.”

He put his hand to his chin in thought. “I wonder if that is her problem. It’s a lot better than the idea that she might be homophobic.”

Gus chuckled and began walking off. “Jay’ll be out in a second, so you won’t be alone. She just needs to finish feeding lil Caesar,” she explained with a wave. She needed to get back to work. There was so much to do.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the family has a barbeque.


	7. Happy memories

7: Happy memories

Jayce and Gus decided to let Octavia play the hostess, as she loved to meet and greet people. So, whenever the doorbell rang, Gus checked to see who it was and opened the door before her daughter took it from there. Of course, everyone who was at the door thought it was beyond adorable.

“Hi, Miss Addy and Miss Daisy!” Octavia greeted two blond women with a massive grin as Gus opened the door.

“Hi, sweetie. You’re getting so big,” the taller of the blonds commented. She was holding a gift-wrapped box, which Gus expected. So far, anyone that showed up had a gift with them.

“I’m Papa’s big girl,” Octavia boasted, pointing to herself with her thumb.

“You certainly are,” the smaller blond replied, rubbing the top of the child’s head.

“I know. I’m s’pposed to tell you everybody in the backyard and living room,” Octavia reported, pointing behind her so they knew what direction to go in.

The two women nodded and made their way through the house. All afternoon friends of Gus and Jayce had been filtering into the house. Jayce was busy with preparing food and tending the grill whenever one of their friends could not do it. Gus was ordered to stay five feet away from the fire at all times.

“Papa, I’m gonna go play, ‘kay?” Octavia announced out of the blue and ran off.

Gus chuckled, but did not comment as the doorbell rang again. She grinned when half of her new “crew” stepped into the house.

“Hey, guys! Glad you made it!” Gus said to Glenn and Ryan.

“Hey, what’s up? We brought the wives and Glenn brought his kids if that’s okay,” Ryan explained, motioning to the group with him.

“Totally fine. There’s plenty of those around here,” Gus informed them, ushering them inside.

“That’s good. Means I don’t have to entire them,” Glenn remarked. “Gus, this is my wife, Stephanie,” he introduced the pair.

“Nice to meet you,” Gus said with a smile and reached out to shake the blond woman’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, too. We’ve already heard that you’ve been adopted by their crew. Now, we’re hoping as a woman, you’ll be the voice of reason,” Stephanie remarked with a pleasant smile.

Gus laughed. “Hate to disappoint, but my wife continues to tell me that I’m like having a third child around here.”

“That is a pity,” Ryan’s wife commented and Gus turned her attention to her. “Hi, I’m Amelia. You’ll more than likely get to know me through a lot of yelling if you’re anything like Ryan, Glenn, and Trevor.”

Gus laughed again. “You can always join forces with Jayce. She’ll definitely love having someone back her up when she tells me I’m an idiot. Now, most of the people are in the back, but my nosier friends are undoubtedly snooping. I’d introduce you to my wife, but Jayce is really running this show and is way busy.”

“Okay, wait a second, now you’re telling me you got your wife to handle the barbeque? You are totally a witch!” Ryan teased.

“Poof, what do you need?” Gus joked.

“That’s the genie, not the witch,” Glenn remarked.

Gus nodded and laughed. The fellows, their wives, and Glenn’s children made their way to the back of the house. Gus watched them, figuring that she would meet up with them a little later and introduce them to her other friends if necessary. But, looking at the way Ryan was whooping it up several ladies who had beers in hand already, she doubted that she would have to do any introductions at all.

“I don’t think he’ll have a problem fitting in,” Gus commented to herself, glancing outside over to her next-door neighbor’s house. Trevor, Travis, and Helena had yet to arrive.

Gus was not sure if they were going to show up or not. She certainly hoped they did. Trevor seemed to think that his wife just needed to adjust to the idea of living next to lesbians and not that she had any real problem with homosexuals. She wanted that to be true because they planned to be there the rest of their lives and they were friends with Trevor anyway.

Deciding not to let the idea of Trevor not showing up bother her, Gus turned her attention to her other guests. She smiled and waved whenever someone caught her eye. Marching out into the backyard, she took in the masses. There were children by the fence, throwing around a dodge ball. Gus was happy to see that Glenn's kids were right in the thick of things, playing around with children around their ages.

“Hey, Jay, how's the grill going?” Gus asked, coming up behind her wife, who was working the grill, flipping over some burgers on one end and then putting her special sauce on some chicken.

“It's going fine. I think I'm going to get Barry to take over, though. She keeps hovering, checking to see if I'm doing it right,” Jayce commented with a smile, nodding toward their friend, who was standing a couple of feet away.

“I'm not hovering,” the thick woman huffed, easily hearing Jayce.

“Yes, you are,” Jayce replied. “Here, you can take over, Barry.”

Jayce stepped away from the grill and Barry grinned as she took over. Wrapping her arms around Gus, Jayce led her spouse away from the food and through the large gathering. Gus returned the embrace, putting her arm around Jayce's waist.

“Have your new friends shown up?” Jayce asked curiously. She scanned around, trying to spot unfamiliar faces.

“Oh, yeah. They showed up a few minutes ago. I'll introduce you as soon as I spot them again,” Gus replied.

“And they didn't have a problem with being surrounded by so much family?” 

“Not that I could tell. They're really good guys. Hell, Ryan might end up going off to a bar with some of the family tonight,” Gus commented with a slight smirk.

Jayce nodded. “Has Trevor showed up yet?”

“No. I'm not sure if he is or not. I don't think Helena is very fond of us,” Gus commented.

“I'm sure she's not, but that doesn't stop Trevor from coming over any other time.” 

Gus could not argue that and did not try. Instead, she scanned the area for her new friends and found them talking to old friends of hers. Gently, she pulled Jayce toward the discussion. When they showed up, it seemed that they had just missed an amusing joke.

“Gus, what's up? We were just admiring your house,” a tall, dark-skin woman, Aisha, stated and her significant other nodded in agreement.

“We were also admiring your neighbors,” an olive-toned, ebony-haired male, Rico, added with a blatant leer at Ryan.

“This neighbor is taken,” Ryan's wife remarked with a smile, possessively putting her arms around her husband.

“The good ones always are,” Rico sighed dramatically, fanning himself as if to stop tears from flowing.

“That explains why you're still single,” Gus teased Rico.

“You need to explain that to Daquan,” Rico retorted.

“Yeah, right after I explain to him that you're hitting on my married, straight neighbors,” Gus replied, smiling.

“This girl is vicious, isn't she? How can you be friends with her?” Rico asked Ryan and Glenn.

“She shows up with beer and has kick-ass cookouts, so what's not to like?” Glenn remarked with a smile.

“The fact that she's a smartass?” Rico commented with a smile of his own.

“Ha, ha, ha. Rico, you're not going to get my new friends against me. They're cool, unlike you,” Gus said, patting her new friends on the shoulders.

“You’re cool until they find another beer supply,” Rico playfully snapped.

“Nah, she’s already an official part of the crew, even without the beer,” Glenn declared.

“See, I’m official. I don’t need you clowns anymore!” Gus laughed.

“Don’t worry. They’ll wise up and release you back into the wild,” Rico snickered.

Gus chuckled and then decided to get to the reason that she came over in the first place. Putting her arm around Jayce’s waist, she introduced her new friends and their spouses to her wife. Jayce smiled at each person and politely shook their hands.

“Thanks for befriending my big baby,” Jayce remarked, rubbing Gus’ stomach.

“Speaking of baby, we heard you have an absolutely adorable pair. Care to show them off?” Amelia inquired.

Jayce’s smile was so bright that it could have been used to signal outer space. “Our little princess is running around with her friends and Gus-Gus is hanging out with his aunt, but I would love to show them off,” she boasted.

“I’ll go get my clone and you get to know my new adopted clan,” Gus remarked, strolling away before Jayce could answer.

“Thanks for watching out for Gus. She doesn’t make friends as easily as she should,” Jayce commented. Of course, she felt like Gus did not make as many friends as she should because Gus always stuck so close to her.

“No problem. We’re all real friendly and we like her,” Ryan stated with a grin and then realized how that sounded. He glanced at his wife, who was only smiling at him, and he decided to clean up his proclamation. “In a totally platonic, not-thinking-of-her-in-appropriately way!”

“That’s good. You don’t have the right equipment to keep her happy,” Jayce teased, earning some light laughter.

“What? I got fingers and a tongue,” Ryan remarked with a lewd grin. Amelia wasted no time slapping him in the back of the head. “Ow!”

“Learn to stop while you’re ahead,” Amelia scolded her husband.

“So, how are you liking the neighborhood so far?” Stephanie asked Jayce with a small smile. She tucked a long strand of blond hair behind her ear.

“I’m enjoying it very much. I think I’ll like it more when my family doesn’t seem like an exhibit to our neighbors,” Jayce answered honestly.

“That might take a while. It’s pretty boring around here and you guys did just throw this huge, gay soiree. So, we’ll be talking about this for the next year or so,” Ryan quipped with a big grin. 

“Unless, of course, someone catches Brandon’s mistress running through another backyard in only a sheet,” Amelia comment dryly, rolling dark brown eyes.

“No, this is probably better than that. I mean, this is the first lesbian couple in the neighborhood and this is a big gathering. Brandon’s mistress falls out of his house a few times a year,” Ryan pointed out with a chuckle.

“Sounds like this is an interesting place to live. Perhaps, Daquan could be convinced to move out here. He and I could take the heat off of you and Gus. After all, we are flamboyant gay men. That automatically makes us more interesting than two average lesbians,” Rico said, smirking.

“I don’t think the neighborhood is quite ready for you yet,” Stephanie teased Rico.

Jayce smiled when Rico laughed the comment off. It was good to see their new friends getting along with their old friends. There were a few more laughs shared before Gus returned with Gus-Gus in her arms and Jannie by her side. She quickly introduced her sister to the small crowd and all attention went to Gus-Gus.

“Oh, he is so cute!” Amelia and Stephanie cooed simultaneously.

“We only make ‘em cute,” Gus bragged before cooing at her son. Gus-Gus gave his mother a toothless grin in return.

“What’s his name?” Amelia inquired.

“Augustus, but we mostly call him Gus-Gus,” Jayce answered.

“How old is he?” Stephanie asked.

“Seven months now. He doesn’t know it, but come the year mark, I’m making him get a job or he has to get out,” Gus joked.

“Please, the way they treat him, he’ll be living at home until he’s forty,” Jannie chimed in.

“He’s my baby and I’ll spoil him as I please,” Jayce stated with a proud smile.

“Yeah, until I give him the boot,” Gus remarked. She then kissed the baby’s cheek. From the light in her eyes, they all knew that Jannie was probably right. Augustus obviously had Gus wrapped around his little, pudgy finger.

“Do you mind if I hold him?” Amelia inquired.

“No problem. Just be careful because he drools at the strangest times,” Gus cautioned her guest, passing the baby to the other woman.

Amelia cooed over Gus-Gus, who reveled in the attention if the happy smile he was wearing meant anything. Stephanie joined in fussing over the baby, touting how cute he was. Ryan and Glenn laughed over their wives behavior and also the obvious pride beaming from Gus and Jayce as they relayed tales of their little boy. Things continued on when Octavia wandered over, leaning against Gus.

“Hey, princess, what’s up?” Gus asked, petting the child’s head.

Octavia put her arms up as a response. Gus chuckled softly and bent down, picking her daughter up. Octavia rested her head against her papa’s shoulder and smiled at the group of adults.

“I’m Octavia. Are you my Mommy and Papa’s friends?” the child asked, earning several smiles and laughs.

“How can one family be this cute?” Ryan joked.

Glenn shook his head. “No idea,” he replied before turning his attention to the little girl. “Yes, we’re your parents’ friends. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Octavia grinned before turning her attention to her mother. “Mommy, I thought you said that Travie was gonna come. How come he’s not here?” she inquired with a pout.

“He should be here, princess. You just have to give him time. You know how long it takes parents to get ready,” Jayce answered in a gentle tone with a matching smile.

Octavia nodded, earning some more laughs. Things would have continued on in that manner if Gus had not noticed the newest arrivals to the party as they set foot in the backyard.

“Hey, Octie, I think your pal might’ve heard your plight,” Gus said, pointing over to the sliding doors that lead into the house. Octavia turned to see what her papa was talking about.

“Travie! Good, he can meet my other friends!” Octavia cheered, pushing out of her papa’s arms. Gus carefully put her daughter down before Octavia ended up hurting herself. The child took off toward Travis and his parents.

“I get the feeling that she and Travis are best friends,” Glenn commented.

“Either that or she’s a stalker already,” Gus joked. “Excuse us while we go greet our good neighbors,” she said, putting her arm around Jayce and leading her over Trevor and Helena. She knew that Jannie would take care of Gus-Gus while the ladies continued to fawn over him.

“Trevor, Helena, we’re so happy that you could make it,” Jayce said with a bright smile.

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Trevor declared with a grin.

“Mommy, Papa, I’m gonna take Travie to meet everyone, okay!” Octavia asked, but she did not stick around for a response. She pulled Travis away from his parents, even though he resisted somewhat. Still, he never turned around or forced her to stop.

Trevor laughed. “I swear I’m going to have to take that boy shopping for an engagement ring before his tenth birthday,” he remarked.

“You never know, Octavia might ask her papa to take her shopping for a ring,” Jayce pointed out with a playful smile.

“I would not be surprised by that,” Trevor admitted with a pleasant smile. “So, how about introducing us around? There’s so many people here I almost thought we were at the wrong place,” he guffawed.

“It has to seem strange for us to have so many people over when in all of the time you’ve known us we haven’t had a single friend here,” Jayce said.

“It’s a little weird, but I figured people as cool as you two would have dozens of friends,” Trevor replied honestly.

“We’ll introduce you guys and then Helena can work the room, if you want anyway,” Gus offered.

Helena did not verbally respond. There was a slight shrug and then she squared her shoulders, almost as if she were getting ready for battle. Gus and Jayce could understand that, so they wasted no time introducing their new friends to their other acquaintances. Once they felt like they had done enough, Gus and Jayce stepped away, leaving Trevor and Helena to fend for themselves.

“I’m really surprised that Helena showed up,” Jayce admitted once she was certain that they were good distance from their neighbors.

“I told Trevor we had a lot of friends that she could use to network and that seemed like good motivation. She’s really into her job, so I figured helping her out on that front might get her to stop looking at us like we were the most disgusting thing that she’s ever seen,” Gus replied.

Jayce nodded and the couple broke apart to go entertain themselves. They kept an eye on Trevor and Helena for a while, surprised that the couple eventually drifted apart just as they had. Helena did not seem to have any problem conversing with all of the lesbian couples and gay couples at the gathering.

“Is it just us that she has a problem with?” Jayce wondered, considering Helena’s attitude. She did not have a chance to think too much of it, distracted by other guests and other items that needed her attention.

Gus wondered the same thing, but found that she could get an answer. She ended up standing next to Trevor as she was going to get a drink. He grinned at her.

“Killer barbeque, Gus. This food is ridiculous and you have so much of it. I didn’t think there would be so many people,” Trevor commented, eating off of a plate that was stocked with chicken, corn on the cob, and two hotdogs.

“Honestly, I didn’t think there’d be this many people either. But, apparently we’ve got more friends than we know what to do with. Or they have more friends than they know what to do with because some of them did just drag others along for the free food. It’s a good thing we did go overboard on the food. What took you so long getting here, anyway?” Gus asked.

“Helena. At first, I convinced her to throw on a pair of jeans and t-shirt and move on with her life since I knew this was just going to be a friendly barbeque, right. Well, we were all ready to go when she happened to glance out of the window and saw just how many people you had in your backyard. She then started interrogating me about what you do for a living and everything. I told her as much as I could and then she started asking about Jayce’s job. I probably should’ve kept my big mouth shut.”

Gus nodded. “She started to think that we had some big-wigs over here, huh?”

“Well, she didn’t think of it as the ‘little lesbian barbeque’ anymore, I can tell you that. Poor Travis was about to burst into tears when she threw on her game face and went to change … four times. He just wanted to come over and play.”

“You should’ve told her it’s not that serious.”

“I tried! You can’t reason with that woman when it comes to possible clients. I felt underdressed just walking next to her,” he remarked. “Standing next to you, though, I feel like I could attend the Oscars.”

Gus snorted and punched him in the shoulder. He laughed while Gus’ gaze wandered over to Helena, who was dressed in what was essentially business-casual. She had on a brown pencil skirt and a tan v-neck shirt. Gus was surprised when she noticed the woman was even wearing heels. She turned her attention back to Trevor.

“I feel undressed now and I not only live here, but threw the damn barbeque!” Gus chuckled.

“I was going to tease her about every woman at the party hitting on her, but she didn’t seem to care about that much,” Trevor commented.

“I noticed she didn’t seem at all bothered by all of the lesbians. I thought it was a bit weird since she still seems to have a problem with me and Jayce.”

It was Trevor’s turn to nod. “I noticed that too. I don’t think it’s the fact that you guys are a lesbian couple that bother her.” 

Gus scratched her eyebrow with her pinkie. “Then what is it? We haven’t spoken enough for her to just hate us personally.”

“Hell if I know what it is. Whenever I spoke to her about it, she made it seem like her problem was with you guys being gay. Now, that was obviously a front.” He looked over at his wife again and she was merrily conversing with a lesbian couple.

“Maybe on a business level she’s able to deal?” Gus offered.

He shook his head. “I really don’t think it’s just that. I mean, if it was, she would act somewhat fake toward everyone she’s interacting with. She’s not acting that way. I’ve seen her in business-mode with people she doesn’t like, but is forced to be around. It’s not like this. She doesn’t have a problem with your friends or their sexual preferences. She’s not uncomfortable at all.”

“So, it is me and Jayce she had a problem with, personally?”

“It seems so. I just don’t get why.”

Gus shrugged. “Ah well. For some reason, I feel better about that than I do when I thought she hated us because we’re lesbians.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Really? You’d rather someone hate you personally than just because you’re gay?”

“I feel like the personal one I can probably fix someone, show them that I’m not as horrible as they think or whatever. I can’t fix her hating us because we’re gay.”

“I guess that makes sense.” There was a moment of silence between them before a teasing glint appeared in Trevor’s eyes. “So, how is that you throw a barbeque and you’re not the one working the grill? Won’t they revoke your butch lesbian license?” he joked.

Gus laughed. “I’d rather that than to go to jail for massive food poisoning. I’m sure that would fall under all kinds of assault charges. Maybe even attempted murder. I can’t be trusted next to anything that involves fire and food. Had you arrived earlier, you would’ve seen Jayce running the grill.”

“Oh, making the femme work the grill? That has to be an double butch offense!”

“Who’s been lying to you and telling you I’m butch, anyway? I might be the Papa around here, but I think that’s where things end with me being butch.”

Trevor nodded. “Honestly, I thought that was how lesbian relationships were broken down, anyway. One of you has to be the guy.”

“Oh, man. Let me educate you tonight, my friend. I think you’ll enjoy finding out just how wrong you are.”

He actually smiled at that. Gus liked how open-minded Trevor was, even with his extremely limited knowledge on same-sex couples and relationships. She picked up Ryan and Glenn, figuring they might be open to a little education too. The group had plenty of fun together, joined by some of Gus’ other friends. In the end, it was a good night, even though there were a couple of bumps in the road.

-8-8-8-8-

Octavia was knocked out against her papa, who was smiling broadly. Gus rubbed Octavia’s back to help keep her asleep while she cleaned the grill with her free hand. Jayce was nearby cleaning up any plates or cups that did not make it into the garbage.

“Tonight was a good night,” Gus commented with a smile.

“Any night where Octavia falls asleep without begging for a story is a good night to you,” Jayce pointed out.

Gus chuckled. “That is always a good night. Those kids all wore themselves out. Everybody had to carry their midgets out of here.”

“Then it was a good day,” Jayce agreed. “Although I wish our friends were more accurate when they go to throw things in the garbage. It would be nice if they could hit the garbage at least twenty percent of the time.”

“They’re too busy admiring the house and marveling over how big the kids have gotten in less than a month,” Gus replied with a laugh.

“At least we got this out of the way. I’m so ready to go back to having this place to ourselves.”

“You’re right about that. I guess I can forgive Jannie for this then.”

“Of course you can. You can then go back to being angry with her over her choice in girlfriends,” Jayce remarked with a teasing smile.

“Oh, god!” Gus groaned. “I couldn’t hate that girl anymore if I tried! Did you see how she was looking at Octie just because Jannie was talking to her?”

“I think that upset you more than the fact that one of our neighbors actually called the police on us,” Jayce said.

Gus let out another groan. The highlight of the evening was the arrival of the police; it happened more than once that night. The first time, a neighbor had made a call about a “rambunctious bacchanal” in their backyard. Of course, once the uniformed officers looked around, they realized it was an average barbeque … except there seemed to be a lot more women than they expected. Gus had to keep from laughing when the duo tried to hit on several of her friends before they made their exit.

“I guess it could’ve been worse. Someone could’ve called and said we were hosting a gay orgy,” Gus remarked.

“Someone did. I answered the door solo when the police arrived a second time,” Jayce informed her wife.

Gus had to turn around and face her spouse on that note. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I kid you not. The officers were not amused when they saw we were having a plain barbeque with a suspicious amount of women in attendance.”

“I had no idea there was a limit to how many women you could have at a barbeque.”

“Yes, well, the second set of officers seemed to think something was going on.” Dark eyes rolled as Jayce snorted.

“Why didn’t you come get me? I would’ve thrown them out on their asses,” Gus declared.

“I know you would have, baby, but I can handle things too. A lot more diplomatically, too. I didn’t want you to get into any trouble or for the police to think we were a bunch of smart-asses and give them an excuse to harass us over any little call our neighbors might make.”

“That sucks. The first two guys were cool. I gave them some food and a few sodas and they were all smiles when they left. Even told us to have a good night.”

Jayce sighed. “Well, the second pair wasn’t that cool. In fact, they looked like something smelled bad the whole time they were here.”

“You know what, screw them! Tonight was great and I’m not going to let some asshole cops change that,” Gus declared and then Octavia squirmed in her arms. She made a face and mouthed an apology when she noticed Jayce was glaring at her.

“It was a good night. Now, how about you go put the princess to bed. I’ll get lil Caesar into bed,” Jayce said.

Gus nodded and hurried off, figuring they would finish cleaning in the morning. She changed Octavia into pajamas without waking her up; it took an abundance of practice and patience to achieve such a feat. Octavia whimpered and moaned, but she did not wake up.

“Have a good sleep, sweetheart,” Gus whispered, leaning down to kiss her daughter’s forehead.

“Is she still asleep?” Jayce asked from the doorway. 

“Knocked out cold. And our emperor?” Gus countered as her wife stepped over to her.

“Just as knocked out.”

Gus nodded and went to say her goodnights to Augustus while Jayce said her own to Octavia. They met up again in their bedroom and got ready for bed. Once they were resting comfortably in their bed, they turned to each other.

“This was a really good idea. Should we do it again on the 4th of July or Labor Day?” Gus asked.

“I’d like that, love. We could make it an annual thing?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Gus agreed, wrapping her arms around her wife and holding her close. It would make their home even better if they built some traditions with their friends.

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce and Trevor were sitting on his front porch while their children were playing around on the front lawn. Gus-Gus was safe in a playpen, trying to figure out how he could get out. Climbing seemed to be his only plan and it was not successful for the umpteenth time that he tried it. Jayce shook her head, even though it was nice to see her baby boy trying to stand up.

“So, that was a great barbeque you guys threw. Travis talked about his new friends the whole night and then the whole morning until you guys came over,” Trevor reported with a smile. 

“I’m so glad he had a good time. Did you and Helena enjoy yourselves too?” Jayce inquired.

“I loved it. Helena loved it, too, but for different reasons. I think she gave all of your friends her card and actually picked up a few clients.”

“Gus’ll know more about that. I’ll ask her when she comes back in.”

“Ask her about how she gave me and my crew a crash course on lesbians that night. We had a ball asking just about every question we could think of. Your friends probably think we’re complete idiots and Gus is our sovereign leader.” He chuckled.

“Our friends were probably more than happy to answer any question you had, even if you were purposely being ignorant.”

“And we were about half the time. Gus encouraged it,” he grinned.

“Of course she did.” Dark eyes rolled.

“Okay, before I get her into anymore trouble, lemme throw out the olive branch really quick. I got tickets to the auto show next week. You and yours want to come?” he offered.

“What about your other friends?”

“Glenn has his own tickets and Ryan will be otherwise occupied. He actually gave me his ticket for Gus. The other one, for you, is from Helena. She hates cars.”

Jayce nodded. “Well, so do I, so I think you’ll have to hang out with Gus again. Gus is all about cars.”

Trevor laughed. “Oh, you’re punishing me so much by making me go enjoy cars with Gus! Why are you doing this to me?” He clutched his chest and pretended to gag. Jayce laughed and shoved him.

“You’re so silly. It’ll give me more time with the kids.”

“Well, Gus might want to take your little princess there. I’m bringing Travis. The little guy loves cars.”

“Octavia will definitely go if her friend is going. Besides, she likes cars too. She likes just about anything that her papa likes.”

Trevor laughed, even though that did not surprise him. He had never met a child so interested in her own parents, so admiring of her own parents. He thought it was cute and he knew that her parents thought the same, which was why he was certain Gus would take the child with them to go to the auto show. 

-8-8-8-8-

“Oh, look at that car!” Octavia pulled her papa to go look at another car. Gus laughed and allowed herself to be yanked away by her child. Trevor and Travis were right behind them.

“I didn’t think she was that into cars,” Trevor commented, walking beside Gus. 

“You should’ve seen when I had this roadster. She was only two, but I swear she was always trying to jump into the driver’s seat.”

“You had a roadster?”

“I sold it when Jayce was pregnant with Gus-Gus. Jayce always went on and on about how impractical it was to have the roadster because we had a growing family and it only fit two people. I already had the SUV, which was being used a lot more than the roadster already. So, I sold it.”

Trevor nodded. “You miss it?”

“Not really. It was a toy that I had outgrown.”

Trevor smiled and nodded again, understanding her. They got to the car that Octavia wanted to see and Gus quickly put the child behind the wheel. Travis jumped in to ride shotgun and their parents took pictures, which was what they had been doing all day. Of course, several cars caught their eyes, too, but they did not sit behind the wheels of any of them. They did not want to tempt themselves.

“Let’s go sit them in that one next,” Trevor suggested, pointing to a sleek convertible.

“Okay, we’ll let Travis drive that one,” Gus agreed.

They did as they said they would. Travis grinned as he sat behind the wheel of the car. Octavia cheered him on. Travis acted like he was in a race car, going so far as to make his own sound effects. Octavia only cheered louder.

“Oh, Papa! Sit here and let Travie drive you!” Octavia suggested, sliding out of her seat.

Gus was not able to deny her child, so she eased into the passenger seat and let Travis “drive” her. Trevor laughed while Octavia cheered more. He made sure to snap several pictures of his son “driving” his neighbor.

“You’re a really good driver,” Gus told the little boy.

Travis grinned brightly at the compliment. “I watch Mom do it all the time!” he boasted. “My mom drives because Dad yells bad words at people.”

Gus could not help chuckling at that one. Travis proceeded to explain to her what all of the buttons in the car did; of course, he only truly knew what buttons were for the radio. Everything else he made up, but she went along with it and he seemed very happy with that. He talked to her the whole time they were in the car together.

“He’s not the shy kid he once was,” Gus commented as she climbed out of the car.

Trevor smiled and nodded. He was obviously proud of his son opening up. “So, where did you take Miss Gus?” Trevor asked Travis as the boy hopped out of the driver’s seat and into his father’s waiting arms.

“I drove her to Paris!” Travis announced proudly with his little chest puffed out.

“He even bought me dinner while we were there. He sure knows how to treat a lady,” Gus remarked with a smile.

“Wait until he find out how much it costs to drive to Paris,” Trevor quipped with a smile of his own.

Gus smirked and they moved onto the next car. That time Octavia was able to drive Trevor to Mars. Gus hoped that if Octavia ever did want to make that trip, it would be on the government and she did not have to start saving now. She also took plenty of pictures.

“This was a good day,” Gus commented as the group left the auto show. She was carrying Octavia and Trevor was carrying Travis. The kids were not asleep, but they were exhausted and in need of lunch.

“It was really good. I can’t wait to show Helena all of the pictures. I bet she’ll come next time when she sees how much Travis enjoyed himself.” Trevor turned his attention to his son. “Right, kiddo?”

“I want Mom to come next time … and Miss Jayce,” Travis replied with a yawn. He rubbed his eye with his small fist.

“Yeah, Mommy should come and Gus-Gus,” Octavia agreed. Her eyes were drooping and her papa was not too sure Octavia would last long enough for lunch.

“We can make it a real family trip. Or maybe make some place their moms want to be as a family trip,” Gus remarked.

“That sounds good. We should throw that around,” Trevor agreed.

It sounded like a good plan. What sounded like an even better plan was getting lunch into their kids before they began complaining. Once lunch was had, they went home. The children slept on the way, but woke up as soon as the car stopped.

“Mommy, we had fun!” Octavia shouted as she charged into the house.

“I’m sure you did,” Jayce said, stepping out of the living room. Octavia jumped into her arms and they embraced tightly.

“We took lots of pictures! Show Mommy the pictures, Papa!”

Gus smiled and produced her camera. They all sat down and Gus handed over the camera before picking up Gus-Gus. She cooed at the baby before shifting him, so he would be able to see the pictures too. Octavia happily talked them through all of the pictures. Gus only chimed in when Octavia got too excited and could not properly explain what was going on.

“Mommy, will you come next time?” Octavia inquired with a bright smile once the pictures were done. 

Jayce smiled too. “Of course, princess. I didn’t know you’d have so much fun. I would love to come next time and see you drive in all of the big cars.”

“Great! Travie is gonna see if his mommy’ll come too!”

Jayce kept smiling, but she glanced at her spouse. Gus shrugged and saved the conversation by asking Octavia which car was her favorite. The child was easily distracted and ran into a long, dissertation about her favorite cars from the show. Gus smiled at her wife, who sighed in relief. But, the day was saved.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Jayce has some trouble while Gus accidentally causes some trouble.


	8. From all sides

8: From all sides

“Do you think we should get a basketball hoop in the driveway?” Gus asked while scratching her eyebrow with her pinkie. It seemed out of the blue to her spouse, who was curled up with her on the couch.

Jayce smiled and wrapped Gus’ arm around her waist. “Why would we need one?” she countered. 

“I dunno. I might want to teach the kids how to shoot hoops and stuff like that,” Gus answered with a shrug. “You know, quality papa time.”

“And this has nothing to do with the fact that Glenn just bought a hoop for his driveway a few days ago?”

Gus blinked. “What? How do you know that?”

Clicking her tongue, Jayce shook her head to her wife’s disbelief. “Don’t you know that any time a group of husbands become friends, their wives also become friends if only to keep track of them?” she teased.

“Is that true? You keep up with Amelia and Stephanie?”

“We’ve spoken a couple of times, yes. We’re not the Three Musketeers or anything, but we do like to talk to each other. Amelia and I were warned by Stephanie that you and Ryan were coveting Glenn’s hoop. You don’t need one.”

“Of course we do! What if Octavia or Gus-Gus wants to play basketball?” Gus pointed out.

“You can walk them up the street to the small park with a court.”

“What? That court could be taken!”

“Baby, there are several courts. What if they decide they want to play soccer? Will we have to put in a soccer field?”

“No, but we could set up a goal in the back. Same thing is they wanted to play football. Come on! Please!” Gus threw on her most adorably pathetic grin, knowing it would get her wife to cave almost immediately.

“How about we talk about this when Octie shows an interest in basketball or Gus-Gus isn’t the same size as a basketball?” Jayce proposed.

“No, c’mon!” Gus pretended to whine. She embraced Jayce tightly, pulling the smaller woman to her body. She then whimpered in Jayce’s ear, sounding like a wounded puppy.

“I’m not okaying this, sweetheart, so cut it out.”

“What? C’mon my little Jay bird. I’ll put in a good word for you and our kids will think you’re the cool parent,” Gus remarked, kissing her spouse’s cheek.

“Hey! I am a cool parent! I’m the one that makes them treats and Octie loves helping me in the kitchen!”

“I bring home video games, though.”

Jayce turned to better face her spouse. “Do you really think they’ll think I’m not cool?” she asked with a pout. And just like that, the tables were turned on Gus.

“Aw, baby, you know I’m teasing. You are cool and our babies adore you. Octie thinks you make light, you know that?”

The shorter woman snorted and laughed. “You’re lying.”

“I swear! She thinks that you make light. I mean, all light too. Inside light and the freaking sun. She thinks you have power over the sun.”

Jayce still looked skeptical. “How do you know that?”

“One day, I went to wake her up for breakfast and it was a cloudy day. I think it rained the whole night and into the morning. But, anyway, she looked around and told me to go away. She said, ‘Papa, you didn’t do it right. Let Mommy wake me up, so she can make the sky light up.’ I swear to you, she said that. She thinks that the sun comes out because you wake her up.”

Jayce smiled and Gus took the opportunity to kiss Jayce. They then turned their attention back to the movie they were watching. They were having quality time since their children were asleep. Before the movie ended, Jayce was soundly sleeping against her spouse. Gus was far from tired and busied herself by running her fingers through Jayce’s hair. The phone ringing distracted her from the task briefly.

Gus grabbed the phone, not wanting it to ring again because she did not want to wake up Jayce. She checked the caller ID and her brow wrinkled. She did not recognize the number.

“Hello?” Gus answered, using her free hand to pet her wife.

“Is this the bitch?” the familiar, detestable voice of her mother-in-law replied.

“Marion, it’s been a while. How’s the restraining order treating you?” Gus mocked the woman with a level of satisfaction in her voice.

“You filthy fucking whore! You might have charmed a judge and lied to my son, but I will get my granddaughter back!”

“Blah, blah, blah. Stop calling my fucking house. You bother my family again and—” Gus was cut off.

“Don’t you threaten me!”

Gus remained calm. “You know it’s not a threat, Marion. This is my family. Octavia is my daughter with Jay. You know that. You want to keep testing me, bring it on. I’ll fucking bury you _again_.”

“I know you’re molesting her! I know it! I’ll prove it!”

Gus ended the call, not bothering to listen to Marion’s bullshit anymore. Making a mental note to get the number that Marion called from blocked, she turned her complete attention back to Jayce. She embraced her wife, holding her dearly.

“What life must have been like with that crazy woman,” Gus sighed. She hated imagining what her spouse’s life was like when she lived with Marion Newton. The woman seemed to have a special sort of contempt for her daughter. It was rather unhealthy from what Gus could tell.

Marion’s life seemed to be all about making Jayce’s life hell. It had been a rather difficult task for the past few years and Gus was going to make sure it remained difficult. So, one of her hobbies was about driving Marion crazy by not letting her get close to Jayce. She decided that she was going kick it up a notch and cause some trouble for Marion, if only to keep her too occupied to bother Jayce.

“Hey, love,” Gus whispered into her wife’s ear.

“Hmm …?” Jayce replied, obviously incoherent.

“Baby, wake up. Let’s go get in the bed.”

“Bed?” was the mumbled echo.

“Yeah, the bed. We’re on the couch right now. The kids obviously wore you out today, so let’s go get in the bed.”

Jayce nodded and they made their way to their bedroom. Gus sat up for a little, thinking about Marion. Aside from pushing back a little on Marion, she was going to have to find out what the woman was up to and put an end to it before it got out of hand. She was not going to let her wife or children be traumatized by that crazy lady anymore.

“That bitch is out of her mind if she thinks I’m going to let her mess up the best thing to ever happen to all of us,” Gus murmured and reached over to her nightstand. She had a notepad and a pen there and began to plan out what she needed to do.

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce was sitting outside with her laptop, supposedly working. It was obvious work was her last priority. She was watching Octavia ride her tricycle and keeping an eye on Augustus, who was on the porch with her. 

“Hi!” Octavia called out to the couple that jogged by the house everyday.

“Hello, Octavia,” the woman smiled and waved. She then turned and looked at the baby on the porch. “Hey, Gus-Gus,” she added, waving at the infant too. The little boy grinned, but it was hard to tell if it was at her or at the world in general.

Jayce smiled and waved at the couple, who did the same before going on their way. While the couple did not seem to approve of her relationship with Gus, they were friendly to the children and respectful to Gus and Jayce. Jayce assumed the tolerance was due to the fact that Octavia was so friendly toward the couple whenever they jogged by. After the initial meeting, Octavia greeted the pair and offered them just about anything that came to mind to get them to talk with her. She did that with any familiar face that went by the house.

“I’d worry about her always talking to strangers if only she didn’t do with such a bright smile,” Jayce joked with herself. Of course, Octavia actually never spoke to strangers. She recognized the people that went by the house and only talked to the ones that had introduced themselves to her mommy or her papa.

It was an average, uneventful day for the family. Gus showed up after work and Octavia leaped into her arms. They exchanged a tight hug before Gus turned her attention to her spouse, who was carrying the baby.

“I was thinking, how about a family night out?” Gus proposed out of the blue.

“Oh, I wanna go to Playtime America!” Octavia announced.

Both parents smiled. “I figured as much, Octie,” Gus said, rubbing the child's head. Her eyes then went to her wife.

“Sounds like a great idea. I haven't cooked anything yet,” Jayce replied.

“Good. Everybody pile in and we'll get going,” Gus proclaimed with another smile.

“Hey, can we see if Travie wants to come?” Octavia requested.

“Hey, princess, how about we do this one as a family and then the next time we go, you can invite Travis, okay?” Jayce suggested.

Octavia pouted until Gus rubbed the top of her head and picked her up. Gus put Octavia in her seat while Jayce strapped the baby in his own seat. Gus was ready to go, but Jayce had to run into the house for Gus-Gus’ diaper bag. Gus took that opportunity to talk to Octavia to get her to stop pouting.

“Hey, we’ll definitely take Travis next time, but right now we should have fun as a family. We’ll have fun as a family. You can play with me and Mommy and even Gus-Gus,” the businesswoman said in a very gentle tone.

“I guess …” the child replied grumpily.

“Hey,” Gus whispered. “Look at me, princess.” Big, dark eyes met her light hazel ones. “Sometimes, it’s just going to be us. It’s to help make sure we stay as close as we are. You like how we are, right?”

The child nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“And you don’t want us to break up, right?”

Octavia looked horrified by the very idea. “Never!”

Gus smiled. “It’s never going to happen, but this is to make sure it doesn’t. okay?”

Octavia nodded again and Gus continued to smile. Jayce was back in after that talk and the family was off. They all had fun together, but Octavia did not forget that her mothers agreed that next time her friend could join them.

Sure enough, the next time that they went out to the kiddie arcade known as “Playtime America” Octavia made sure her friend was with them. Trevor went along since it was the middle of the afternoon and he did not have anything better to do; besides, he thought it would be fun to play around in an arcade with the kids. The next time Jayce and Gus offered to take Travis for an afternoon, though Trevor let it be known that he would spend the afternoon working. The ladies had no problem with that.

-8-8-8-8-

“Hey, Jayce, do you mind watching my boy for a couple of hours while I get some writing done?” Trevor requested as he and his son marched across their front yard. Jayce and her two children were in their front yard again.

“You know I have no problem with that. You sure you just need a couple of hours?” Jayce countered.

“Yeah, that should be enough time. If not, I’ll ring your cell, okay?”

“Sounds good. Hey, buddy, you’ll keep my daughter out of trouble?” Jayce asked, smiling at Travis.

“I’ll try,” he answered with a serious nod. The expression on his face was completely serious, too.

The parents laughed, both knowing that Octavia would get him into trouble if nothing else. Travis went right to Octavia, who was playing with plastic food and cups. Apparently, she was fixing lunch for her other toys, who were not allowed outside. Travis went with it and helped prepare the pretend meal.

Jayce remained on the porch, mostly watching Gus-Gus as he continuously tried to make his way down the stairs. She liked that he was becoming more mobile, instead of crying to be picked up like he used to, but she wished that he were not also becoming so fascinated with stairs. Every now and then, she glanced up because the older children greeted some passerby, but it was nothing serious.

“Hey, look, my mom’s home!” Travis declared with a happy grin, pointing to his house’s driveway. His mother’s car settled into the space. Travis watched her get out and waved like a madman to her. Octavia just copied his actions.

Travis’ face lit up as his mother walked over to them. Helena leaned down and Travis leaped into her arms. She kissed her son’s cheek. She then ruffled his hair, earning a giggle from him.

“What’re you doing home so early, Mom?” Travis asked, unable to keep the grin from his face.

“I came home to have lunch with you and your father,” Helena answered.

“Really?” His eyes were shining with such delight that even Octavia could see it.

“Yes, so, come on. Let’s go eat lunch.” Helena offered her son her hand, which he immediately took.

“I’ll come back later, Octie. I’m gonna have lunch with my mom,” Travis informed his friend, as if she were not standing there to witness the whole exchange.

“Okay. Have fun!” Octavia waved before rushing over to her own mother. “Can we have lunch? Is Papa gonna come and have lunch with us?”

Jayce checked her watch. “I don’t think Papa is going to come home today. But, she was here yesterday. We spoke about how Papa can’t always come home.”

Octavia sighed dramatically as only a child can. “I know, but I like when Papa comes home early.”

“I do too. But, Papa has her business to run. She’ll be home her regular time today.”

Octavia pouted, but she understood. Her mommy had discussed why her papa could not always be home several times before. It was just that she liked it when her papa was around and their family was whole.

When lunch was over and Octavia had had her nap, she, her mother, and brother returned outside. Travis and Trevor were over less than five minutes later. Jayce glanced at the neighbor’s driveway as they approached and noticed that Helena’s car was gone. Travis wasted no time telling Octavia how great it was that his mother had had lunch with them. He was talking a mile-a-minute and gesturing wildly with his hands. Octavia seemed to be keeping up with him, even though that was the first time that Travis showed such enthusiasm.

“He certainly was happy with Helena’s surprise,” Jayce noted, nodding toward Travis.

Trevor nodded. “He was smiling so big when they came in, I thought he was going to split his face open.”

“I suppose Helena doesn’t do things like that often?” Jayce guessed. After being their neighbor for over two months, she had never seen Helena come home early and she spent much of her day outside with her children.

Trevor shook his head. “This was the first time that she ever did anything like that. Weirdly enough, I think it was because last night I was telling her how crazy Octie gets when Gus comes in early. Travis always says that he thinks Octavia is going to explode from the way she gets and I agree with him.”

“Gus loves it,” Jayce said.

“I’m sure she does. But, like I said, I was telling Helena about it because I thought it was funny how yesterday Octavia tackled Gus to the ground, as if she hadn’t seen Gus in years. And the face that Travis made when he witnessed it, god, I thought I would never stop laughing.”

Jayce chuckled a bit, thinking about yesterday. “You were rolling around in the grass like it was the funniest thing you ever saw.”

“Travis’ jaw was literally on the ground and his eyes rolled down the street. I was too done after seeing that. I mean, how could I not laugh? Plus, the noise Gus made when Octavia hit her. I thought Octie killed a moose!”

Jayce chuckled even more. “I thought that’s what happened! That’s why I ran out here!”

Trevor laughed before turning his attention back to their little ones to make sure they were all right. “I hope our neighbors are coming around to you guys. You’re a completely normal family, you know? I think they would see that if they spoke with you a little.”

“Good to know,” she commented with a little sarcasm. “I think everybody sort of likes Octie. She waves and says hi to everyone, so it’s not like they don’t know about us. They smile and talk back to her. They wave at me and Gus, depending on who’s out here. I’m not sure what they think of us, though, because they barely glance at me when they do wave. I think they still stare at Gus like something’s wrong with her. Thankfully, they don’t do that with me.”

Trevor nodded. “I think our neighbors view you more as the normal one based on traditional roles. Gus steps further out of the role than you do, despite the lesbian thing. Gus is the one that goes to work every morning, being the breadwinner and getting called papa. At least Octie calls you ‘mommy’ and everything.”

Jayce thought on it and silently admitted that it somewhat made sense. If their neighbors had never been exposed to same-sex relationships, they probably held a lot of preconceived notions, such as the incorrect idea that Gus was the “guy” of their relationship. That would make Gus the strangest one of their little family to the rest of the world. Before Jayce could think on it further, the children ran up to her and Trevor.

“Can we go to the park?” Octavia asked with Travis nodding.

“Can we? Can we?” the boy asked in his small voice.

Trevor and Jayce turned to each other. They shrugged and that answer was good enough. The children cheered while Jayce went inside to get Gus-Gus’ stroller and diaper bag. They were walking to the park in less than ten minutes of the spontaneous entreaty.

Jayce and Trevor sat down while Octavia and Travis bolted off for the playground equipment. Jayce pulled Gus-Gus out of the stroller and sat him on her lap, so that he could enjoy the fresh air too. He gave her a grin, showing off new teeth.

“Can’t wait until you get bigger so you can play with your sister?” Jayce asked the baby. He glanced off, as if saying that he did not care for the idea of getting bigger.

“I think if he could, he would stay that size forever,” Trevor commented.

“A lot of the time, I feel that way. He refuses almost every developmental milestone we’ve been waiting for. I still can’t get him to take food if a nipple isn’t involved.”

The use of the word “nipple” caused Trevor to crack up laughing. Jayce smiled and shook her head, amused by his behavior. She turned her attention back to the kids and saw them trying to work the see-saw. They could not get the plank to go very high and they appeared pathetically baffled by their inability to push each other up.

“I think I’ll go help them, so I can stop snickering like a teenager,” Trevor remarked, pointing to the kids.

Jayce nodded and laughed as her friend hurried off. Watching Trevor move Travis to share a seat with Octavia, she smiled when he then sat where Travis had been. After watching Trevor propel the kids up in the air a couple of times, she looked down at Gus-Gus to give him some desired attention. He grinned as soon as her eyes landed on him.

“Hey, who’s my favorite little boy? Who’s my favorite little boy?” Jayce cooed to the baby, earning more smiles and laughs from him.

Gus-Gus just ate up all of the attention and Jayce was all about him until she happened to over hear some of the local gossip. A couple of women walked by her and loudly commented in her direction about “some women are just so slutty, they’ll give it up to anybody, be the guy married or another woman.” Jayce choice to ignore the talk, but it was the first of plenty.

Jayce paid attention to her baby giggling and that was good enough for her. Murmurs continued on and she continued to hear about how she was a horrible person for sleeping with Gus and for sleeping with Trevor. She did not understand why people would say such things, except that they were probably bored or somehow dissatisfied with their own lives.

“Still, I wish they would leave me out of their misery,” Jayce grumbled, but she did not dwell on it long. She knew that people could be hurtful and she had learned to ignore it for the most part.

Gus-Gus blew bubbles with his spit as his mother entertained him with silly faces. Soon the bubbles became sounds and he was laughing wildly. His mother figured he just told himself a great joke. Jayce was very happy with that and Trevor joined in laughing as he flopped down on the bench. Travis and Octavia had moved onto the slides.

“It sounds like he’s trying to talk,” Trevor noted, speaking about Gus-Gus.

“I’m sure he is, but I don’t think he’s trying very hard because he knows talking is a step toward growing up. He’s well behind in his development as far as language goes. Once last month, he said something that sounded very much like ‘ma,’ but then he never said it again. Then, he had Gus all hyped up when he said something that sounded like ‘da,’ but it turned out that he just burped.”

Trevor could not help laughing again. “He’s got you two on a line and he knows that. He’ll do everything at his own pace.”

“I know he will. Octavia was also slow to develop. I thought it was due to the circumstances of her birth, but it might just be in our genes. Unfortunately, I can’t be sure.”

“He’ll be fine. Travis didn’t say something that could be mistaken for a word until he was one.”

Jayce smiled and nodded. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now, what do you say we go get some ice cream before I burst into flames?” he suggested as he fanned him.

She laughed and nodded again. They gathered their children and then made their way to the ice cream truck that was parked right outside of the park. As they waited on line, people around them began muttering about Jayce and Trevor. The friends did not say anything, but they did glance at each other, as if making sure everything was all right. A shrug seemed to signal that everything was fine. They could not do anything about all of the gossip, so they would just enjoy their lives. Making things easier was the fact that their children did not comprehend what was being said.

“Time to go home,” Jayce announced after they had finished their ice cream.

“Papa’s gonna be home now?” Octavia asked.

“She should be home,” Jayce answered after checking her watch.

“Mom should be home too, right, Dad?” Travis inquired.

Trevor checked his watch. “Probably. She’s probably wondering where we are too, so let’s get going.”

The group walked off, returning home. As predicted, Gus and Helena were waiting. Farewells were said and the group split in two. Jayce and her children went into the house.

“Papa, where are you? I wanna tell you about the park!” Octavia announced and she ran off to locate Gus.

Jayce laughed as Octavia found Gus and proceeded to talk her ear off. Jayce knew that Gus loved every minute of it. Octavia stuck close to Gus until Gus left to play poker with her friends. Octavia pouted as soon as the door closed.

“Does Papa have to see her friends every week by herself?” Octavia whined, running over to her mommy.

“Papa likes her friends and she deserves a chance to see them on her own. You want Papa to have friends, right?” Jayce asked, leaning down to pick her daughter up. Gus-Gus was happy in his chair, biting on one of his toys as the chair swung slowly.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well, let Papa play with her friends. It’s only one day. Any other time when she sees her friends, Travis is around to keep you company.”

Octavia nodded. “I guess …”

“Come on, we’ll watch a movie and Papa will be back before you know it.”

-8-8-8-8-

“What kind of hands are these?” Gus groaned as she tossed her cards down, folding yet again.

“What are you complaining about? When you do get a good hand you wipe the floor with us. I do believe that is a big stack of dollars in front of you,” Ryan pointed out.

“It’s not fun having to fold ten hands before a good one comes along. I want to be able to play with the big boys,” Gus complained. 

“Rumors about town do have you playing with the big boys. The three at this table to be more precise,” Luis commented under his breath.

Gus had learned to ignore Luis over the days that she was forced to interact with him if she was doing a group activity with her friends. But, that was not one of his blatant put-downs. She looked at Trevor, Ryan, and then Glenn, hoping one of them would explain.

“According to the neighborhood gossip, whenever you’re hanging out with one or more of us, it’s to have all sorts of deviant, mind-blowing sex,” Glenn informed her while shifting his cards.

“Damn it, is this neighbor really that boring that everyone has to be doing everyone or there is no entertainment in life?” Gus huffed. She imagined that the neighborhood gossip might have hurt or even ended some marriages if it went on for so long.

“I’m assuming, yes, since Trevor has been doing everyone since he moved in like five years ago,” Ryan replied. “Thankfully after the first year, most of the guys realized it was all bullshit.”

“Yeah, that first year, I had a lot of people that wanted to beat me up. It was not fun,” Trevor concurred.

“We have to find someone to get the whole neighborhood free cable then,” Gus remarked, earning laughs from the three guys that liked her.

“Speaking of cable, tomorrow, everyone has to be here. We’re watching the game on my TV,” Trevor announced.

“What? I thought we all already agreed to Ryan’s house. No kids jumping on us,” Glenn pointed out.

“That was way before we found out just how good the teams were. Do you really want to watch those two go at it on Ryan’s little wimpy, no surround-sound-not-even-HD TV?” Trevor teased.

“Dude, my TV is HD!” Ryan huffed.

“It is wimpy, though, compared to Trevor’s TV,” Gus pointed out.

“Wimpy to the point that if your TVs were kids, Trevor’s TV would beat your TV up on a daily basis and have it running home crying,” Glenn added in.

Ryan groaned. “Ah, you guys totally suck! But, we’ll see how you like the game with Travis rolling around acting like he’s part of the damn game and Octie undoubtedly calling the commentary.”

“Hey, not my fault my kid follows sports,” Gus argued.

“What she said,” Trevor agreed.

“Hmmm … that doesn’t sound right. As parents, it would totally be your faults, especially since you’re the dads,” Glenn remarked with a taunting smile. “The dads that the children mimic no matter what you do.”

The pair laughed and conceded that he had a point. As the poker game began wrapping up, the usual footsteps of Helena could be heard on the basement stairs. She appeared just as they were folding up the card table. She did not say anything, but watched them intently until they began making their way out of the house. She was the one that closed the door on them when they were finally out, but Gus knew that Helena was actually just closing the door on her.

Gus did not think anything of it and returned home. Octavia tackled her as soon as she hit the door. The little girl was clearly ready for bed, in her pajamas and her breath smelling minty fresh. Gus picked her up and began carrying her up to her room.

“Papa, read me the story with giant, okay?” Octavia requested.

Gus smiled and jumped right into the story. She found it hard to care about Helena’s attitude toward her when she had a loving family to come home to. She found it hard to care about a lot of the crap that went on outside of the house when she had a beautiful, loving family to come home to.

-8-8-8-8-

“Are you sure it’s okay to take Octie over while you’re hanging with the guys?” Jayce asked, holding Gus-Gus on her hip. Her spouse and their daughter were already at the door, poised to leave for their afternoon of sports and hanging out.

“It’ll be fine. Travis is gonna be there, after all,” Gus replied. “Jay, it’s not like we’re gonna be handing them beers of anything,” she added with a laugh.

“You better not!” Jayce chuckled.

“Have some quiet time with Lil Caesar while Octie and I scream at a TV somewhere else and get nacho crumbles all over the floor,” Gus quipped with a smile.

“You better not go over there and act like that! You can only do that in the house where no one knows how embarrassing you truly are!”

Gus just grinned and ran out of the house with their daughter in her arms. Jayce laughed at the antics, but did not pursue Gus, even though she was only going next door. She figured it would be nice to spend some time with her son while Gus bonded with Octavia.

“It’s just you and me today, big boy. Now, what should we do?” Jayce asked with a smile on her face.

Gus-Gus was not hard to please. Jayce fed him, let him swing in his chair a little, and then laid him down in the living room on a blanket with his favorite toys. He crawled around while she watched a backlog of her favorite TV show, which had been collecting up on the DVR.

Time flew by with just the sound of the TV and Augustus’ babbling. Every now and then, Jayce had to pause the TV and focus on her son because he was looking at her and making sounds. She was hoping that one of the sounds would eventually transform into a word. Instead, he did something else unexpected.

Gus-Gus crawled over to the couch and grabbed onto the edges. Jayce watched him carefully, in case he fell as he often did when attempting to pull himself up. She had learned not encourage him or he would get excited and let go. So, she quietly watched as he strained to get his little butt off of the floor. He stood on wobbly, chubby legs and grinned.

“Oh, my god! You finally did it! You stood up!” Jayce quickly scooped the baby up. “You were a little late on that, but you finally did it! Way to go, little man!”

Being an attention-loving child just like his sister, Gus-Gus laughed loudly as his mother praised him. Jayce showered his face with kisses and then was distracted by the phone ringing. She hoped that it was Gus, so she could share the good news. She answered the phone without seeing who was calling.

“Hello,” Jayce said in an almost sing-song voice.

“Where is my granddaughter? If you two have done anything to her!” Marion screamed into the phone.

“Mom!” Jayce gasped. “Stop calling here, Mom! We’re a normal loving family!”

“Loving as in molesting! You filthy fucking whore!”

“We’re not! Just leave me alone, Mom! Leave me alone!” Tears welled up in Jayce’s eyes.

“I will never leave you alone, not until I have my granddaughter back and you’re in prison like you belong! Although knowing how sick you are, you’d probably like prison!” Marion took a deep breath. “I know what you’re doing! I have evidence and witnesses and no judge in his right mind would ever let you near a child again, so just give me my granddaughter, you sick, twisted bitch! And you can tell that fucking whore you live with that nothing she does will be enough to stop me! I’m not fucking around and I don’t care what she keeps trying to put in my way! I’ll run through those, run through her, and especially run through you, you little bitch, to get my granddaughter back!”

Jayce, having been trained by the woman on the phone for over the first half of her life, just stayed on the phone. She took the abuse, the hate, and venom, sobbing with her baby boy on her hip.

-8-8-8-8-

Gus stood up, holding in a yawn and holding onto her knocked out daughter. Travis was sleeping on the floor. The game had ended hours ago, but they turned to a classics sports channel afterwards and basically made a day of it. There were plenty of snacks that sustained them through the evening and they talked about everything that came to mind, so there was never a dull moment. The group had stayed together up until a few minutes ago. Gus was the last one to leave. Unfortunately, she did not make it out of the door before trouble started.

The door opened and Helena walked in. She immediately noticed the guest and sneered at Gus. Her eyes then shot to her husband.

“Trevor, we need to talk. Now,” Helena ordered, marching off deeper into the house.

Knowing those were the worst words in any language, Trevor looked to Gus for help. Gus shrugged; she did not have the answer for him. Sighing, Trevor marched off and went to “talk” with Helena. Gus decided to slip out before she heard anything too personal. She was not fast enough, though. The arguing started before she even made it to the front door.

“What the hell is she doing here at this time of night?” Helena demanded to know with a venomous hiss.

“We were all hanging out. The guys just left like ten minutes ago.”

“That’s pretty goddamn convenient!”

“What is the problem? I have friends over all of the time!”

“Ryan, Glenn, and that jerk-ass Luis are friends. She is _not_ a friend!”

“Helena, seriously, what is the problem? She _is_ my friend, no matter what you might think.”

“Oh, so now I don’t count!”

“Of course you count! But, you’re making something out of nothing. Where is this even coming from? Is it because Gus is gay? Or because she’s like the guy of a lesbian relationship?”

Gus decided to leave on that note. She did not understand why Trevor insisted that she was the “guy” after she and Jayce had explained to him that there was no “guy” in the relationship. Entering her home, she expected to find her wife curled up on the sofa with ice cream and her favorite, extremely corny, television show. Instead, she found Jayce curled up on the sofa, weeping, and clutching their baby boy to her chest as if that was the only way for them to survive. Gus-Gus was crying, too.

“Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?” Gus inquired, drawing attention to herself.

Jayce turned and was on Gus in a flash, holding her wife and both of their children. Gus sighed, knowing exactly what was wrong. She pulled away just a little.

“Jay bird, everything is going to be fine. You know that. Now, I’m going to go put Octie to bed before she wakes up. I’ll come back and we’ll calm down our little emperor and then I’ll definitely talk you down from that ledge. Just don’t jump first. Think of the kids,” Gus said in a low and calm tone.

Jayce nodded, but did not stop crying. She was glad that Gus went to take care of Octavia first. It gave her a chance to try to calm herself down. She began bouncing Gus-Gus in her arms, hoping that the slight movement would make them both feel better. It only worked for her.

“Here, give me this guy,” Gus said gently as she returned, plucking the fussy child from Jayce’s arms. She cooed at him and rocked him somewhat. He cuddled into her chest and she put one arm around Jayce. “Let’s go back to the couch, okay?”

Jayce only nodded and allowed Gus to lead her back to the sofa. They sat quietly as Gus managed to calm down Gus-Gus. She passed him along after he left a wet spot on her shirt, looking for his bedtime meal apparently. Gus busied herself by pulling Jayce close to her while Jayce fed their child. Soon, he was asleep in her arms and she was relaxed against Gus.

“Baby, you can’t let your mom get you this worked up. Hang up in her whenever she calls,” Gus instructed her wife in a low voice.

“I know I should’ve, but she caught me by surprise and old habits just kicked in. Love, she said she had evidence on us. What do you think she meant?” Jayce asked, cuddling closer.

“She’s bullshitting us, Jay bird. She’s pissed because I put in a complaint about her harassing us over the phone. I promise it’s nothing more than a bluff since we actually do have things to use against her. Years of erratic behavior toward you, ignoring several restraining orders, lying to police and judges, and let’s not forget when she was trying to bribe people to testify for her. Jayce, look at me,” Gus ordered and her wife did so without thinking. Dark eyes locked onto hazel ones. “Your mom can’t hurt us, not even you, so stop listening to her.”

Jayce sniffled and nodded. “I’m trying, baby. I’m really trying.”

“How long were you on the couch before I came in?”

“Only a couple of minutes.”

“That’s still too long. Next time, please, just hang up.”

“I will.”

“Hang up any and every time she calls,” Gus ordered. She wondered what more she would have to do to get Marion out of their lives. She had already moved her family, changed their number, blocked Marion’s number, got all sorts of restraining orders, and even called in some favors to jam up Marion’s everyday life, but the woman just kept coming. It was like she was obsessed with Jayce or Octavia … or both of them.

There was some silence for a while. Gus kissed the side of her wife’s head when all seemed completely calm. Jayce turned her head and returned the show of affection with a kiss of her own.

“So, what else did you do today?” the businesswoman asked curiously.

“Watched my show and your son did the most amazing thing today!” Jayce beamed. She then went on to tell how Gus-Gus lifted himself up and how he stood up for a couple of seconds. Gus showed just as much excitement as she did by the feat and they hoped that there were some words in the boy’s immediate future.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Gus and Jayce finally confront Helena on her attitude.


	9. How cookies saved the world

9: How cookies saved the world

Gus was sitting on the front porch, throwing a Frisbee to Octavia. The child had almost no ability to catch, but she loved the game. Octavia enjoyed running after the disc and trying to throw it back, which she was better at then catching it. Most of the time, she still had to walk the Frisbee back to her papa, though. 

Gus hoped that as the child got older, she developed into a better athlete because Octavia was going to want to play a sport in school. She just knew that. And she would encourage it because it would get Octavia to burn off some of her energy.

“Gus-Gus, you should play something too. Your aunt, Jannie, she ran track while I played softball in high school. I would love to teach you and your sister all about it,” Gus said to her son, who was sleeping on her lap. The heat of the day seemed to have zapped him of all of his energy.

Gus-Gus had his mouth wide open and his tiny fists tucked underneath his chin. Minutes ago, Jayce had commented that he looked like his Papa when she was knocked out. Gus had only glanced at her wife, who then went inside to get some work done.

After throwing the Frisbee again, Gus was not surprised that Travis caught it as he charged over from his own yard. Trevor followed behind the boy and sat down next to Gus. Travis returned the Frisbee, only for Gus to throw it again. Travis and Octavia ran after the disc.

“I’m shocked you’re still allowed to play with us,” Gus commented.

“I guess you heard last night,” Trevor sighed.

“Only the start of it.”

“Oh, it got better as time went on. I found out what her problem was, though.”

“Oh? She hates us, right?” Gus remarked, making a mocking face of shocked discovery.

Trevor chuckled. “It’s not that she hates you. At first, she was a little worried about having a lesbian couple right next door. She actually asked me how we were going to explain you to Travis as he got older.” Trevor rolled his eyes and Gus did the same. “Anyway, as it kept going, I found out that lately that’s actually just the excuse she’s working with. The truth, my friend, is much stranger. Apparently, I hang out with both of you too much for her liking. She’s been hearing all of the stupid rumors.”

Gus made an odd noise in the back of her throat. “Did you remind her that we’re totally lesbians? I like to think that I’m married to a woman would sort of assure that neither of us are thinking about you in that way,” she pointed out.

Trevor nodded. “I don’t think she like believes a woman could be totally gay or something. So, no, she doesn’t have a problem with you being gay. She had a problem with the idea going around that you’re either sleeping with me or trying to sleep with me. And when I say ‘you,’ I mean you and Jayce. I couldn’t convince her that I just had a lot in common with both of you and you’re good friends.”

“She thinks you’re having an affair then?”

He shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, she knows I would never do that. She thinks you two are trying to sleep with me and that’s why there are all of those rumors. It doesn’t help that I hang out with both of you.” 

“So, how are you going to fix it?” she asked curiously, giving him a sidelong look of concern. Even though it was not her fault, she did not like the idea of being the reason her neighbors were bickering.

“I dunno. Any ideas?”

Gus shifted the sleeping child in her arms and scratched her eyebrow with her pinkie. “I think that she needs to get to know us. Both of us as a unit. For her, she tends to see us alone instead of as a couple, so in her mind we’re separated as two individuals instead of one couple. I think if she sees us as a couple more, she’ll see that we’re actual lesbians and not faking just to get into your pants.”

“Do you really want to do that?” he inquired in disbelief. “I mean, that would require a tense, uncomfortable situation involving you having to be around someone not very fond of you or your wife.”

“I’m aware and we’ve done it before and survived. I think it would help. For Helena, we’re two women around her husband very often. In her head, we’re not a couple.” 

Trevor shrugged. “I guess. Well, how about we get you guys over for dinner? I’ll tell Helena. I cook, so she shouldn’t have a problem with it happening tonight beyond the fact that you two are going to be there.”

“Yeah, but like I said, she gets to see us as a couple. That way, she’ll eventually figure out that you’re a friend and definitely not a potential fuck buddy because you definitely don’t have the right equipment pal.”

Trevor laughed and then stuck his tongue out at Gus. “Hey, I just realized that’s one of the right parts,” he joked.

She groaned. “Oh, god, Ryan said something just as stupid before.”

“Great minds think alike!”

She rolled her eyes and then turned her attention back to the kids. The Frisbee was never returned to her, not that she minded. Travis did not seem to mind Octavia’s catching ability and they ran around the yard giggling, having a ball as usual. 

“I heard the laughter and needed a break,” Jayce announced as she joined the pair on the porch. She sat down next to her spouse and immediately cuddled into her body.

“Yeah, we’re going to have to take those two to pick out drapes one day,” Gus remarked, nodding toward Travis and Octavia.

“And pay for the wedding,” Trevor added in.

“I’ve already explained to her, it’s college or wedding. If she blows off college for Travis, you’ll never find the body,” Gus replied.

“That doesn’t seem fair. Have you told Gus-Gus the same thing?”

“Gus-Gus is getting a job the second he walks across the living room. And you know that don’t you, buddy?” Gus put her finger in the baby’s face, but he was still totally knocked out.

“This is exactly how Gus looks when she falls asleep on the couch. Her mouth is almost always hanging out. She even balls her hands up like this,” Jayce said, wiggling one of the baby’s fists.

“You just going to try to totally embarrass me in front of my man-friend, huh?” Gus said in a dry tone.

“I thought you did that on your own when you went along with their wacky ideas,” Jayce retorted with a teasing smile.

“I feel like you two are way too comfortable around me,” Trevor remarked with a smile. “Speaking of comfortable, Jayce, you guys are coming to dinner tonight to try to get Helena more comfortable with the two of you.”

“Sounds good. I’ll bring dessert,” Jayce replied.

“You don’t have to and that was way too easy,” he said and then he turned to Gus. “I’m starting to believe you are a witch. She cooks, she cleans, she bears your children and names them after you, goes along with all of your crazy ideas, and offers to bring dessert to something that will undoubtedly be uncomfortable.” He then turned back to Jayce. “You really don’t have to bring dessert.”

“I know I don’t, but I want to.”

“You won’t be able to talk her out of it, so just accept that she’s bringing dessert and let’s move on,” Gus said. Trevor decided not to put up a fight, but he did continue to insist that Gus was a witch.

-8-8-8-8-

“Did Helena agree to this? I mean, won’t we just be making things worse if we just show up at her house and she doesn’t know or doesn’t want us here?” Jayce inquired, obviously having second thoughts about their dinner plans. She was holding a cake while Gus was in charge of the children.

Gus laughed. “I think it’s already bad and she probably already screamed Trevor’s head off about it.”

“Or will,” Jayce added.

Gus shrugged and rang the bell. The door opened to revel an exhausted looking Trevor. Gus gave Jayce a look that said “I toldja so.” Jayce ignored her wife and smiled at their host.

“Hi,” Jayce greeted the neighbor for the whole family.

“Please, come in,” Trevor said, motioning for them to step inside.

The family wasted no time entering. Octavia, having been to the house several times, broke away from her mothers and went in search of her best friend. The adults did not stop her.

“Dinner’s pretty much ready. What’s this you got here?” Trevor asked, nodding toward the cake.

“My specialty,” Jayce replied with a smile.

“If Helena still hates us after this, there’s no way for us to ever be friends,” Gus declared with a proud grin.

Trevor was not sure how to dispute that, but did not have to anyway since the aforementioned woman stepped in. A frown adorned her face and she glared at their guests. Trevor sighed and rolled his eyes, deciding to show Jayce and Gus to the table. Everyone went and sat down for dinner.

“This looks really good,” Jayce commented, staring down at her plate.

“It should taste how it looks, but then again, someone might have slipped arsenic into the potatoes when we weren’t looking,” Trevor remarked with an amused laugh.

“How funny,” Helena sneered.

And things did not get much better. Helena snapped at almost every comment directed toward her, even when Gus was talking about how happy her friends were with Helena’s services. Gus gave up eventually. Jayce tried just about every subject that she could think of to get Helena talking, including their children. Nothing worked.

“Time for dessert, courtesy of Jayce,” Trevor announced, getting up from the table.

“Cake!” Octavia howled, knowing exactly what they were having.

“You made cake, Miss Jayce?” Travis asked with a grin.

“Yup,” Jayce nodded. Travis had had a few of her confections since her daughter befriended him and he was hooked just like the rest of her family.

Travis turned excited eyes to his mother. “Miss Jayce makes the best cakes, Mom! They’re almost as good as your pies!”

That statement got the attention of both Jayce and Gus. They turned to the sneering woman, who was still frowning. Jayce decided to give things one more try since they had something in common.

“You bake?” Jayce asked. She already knew the answer to that thanks to Travis, but she figured it could be a good way to start a conversation.

Helena did not answer and Trevor returned with slices of cake for everyone. The children and Gus immediately dug into the chocolate cake. Trevor started in on his cake just as soon as he finished serving everyone. They all made noises that bordered on obscene as they ate the dessert; the faces they made were no better. Helena stared down at her dessert with suspicion.

“You think you can win my husband over with chocolate cake?” Helena hissed as she glared at Jayce.

Jayce’s brow wrinkled. “Why would I want your husband?” Glancing at the kids, she made sure they were engrossed in their food before continuing with Helena. “I am happily married to Gus. Extremely happy. I don’t understand why you don’t get that.”

“Because for someone that claims to be so happy, you spend a lot of time with my husband.”

“Because our children happen to be best friends and we work from home. I don’t think we should be having this conversation right now, though, since the children are at the table. But, we do need to talk.”

Of course, that was an understatement. But, after the dessert was done for everyone except Helena, the children were sent off to play in Travis’ room. The adults went to the living room and sat. Helena and Trevor parked themselves on the loveseat while Gus and Jayce took the couch. Gus-Gus, who would not have understood what was happening anyway, was half-asleep in Gus’ arms and busying himself with chewing on her shirt.

“Look, Helena, we know why you have such a problem with us. I don’t know what we can tell you to assure you that nothing is going on between us and your husband,” Gus said.

“I trust my husband. I know Trevor will do his best to remain faithful, but I don’t like you two throwing yourselves at him,” Helena stated, throwing her hand out to motion to them.

“You don’t seem to understand that we’re not attracted to your husband at all,” Jayce said.

“Ouch, careful of my ego,” Trevor quipped, grabbing at his chest.

“Helena, Jayce and I are quite happy with each other and very much lesbian. Honest. I think that if you get to know us better, you’d see that we’re not trying to do anything with Trevor. We’re just hanging out. He’s cool and friendly and we’re new to the neighborhood. He’s been great to us, but only as a friend,” Gus insisted.

“Then why all of the rumors?” Helena demanded.

“There are always rumors, Helena! You know that! Every time I start hanging out with someone there are rumors!” Trevor pointed out.

“Doesn’t it count at all that we’re married lesbians?” Gus asked. Her voice was laced with disbelief as she motioned between herself and her wife. She could not believe that she was sitting there with a grown woman having to explain why she, a married lesbian, was not sleeping with and would never be with a man.

“Oh, please! Anybody could call themselves a lesbian and still sleep with men,” Helena snapped. “Saying your gay nowadays is like saying you’re a vegetarian. It’s hip and cool.”

“Uh …” Jayce wanted to inquire about that nonsense analogy, but her spouse spoke up first.

“Okay, you know what, I’m not going to sit here and prove that I’m not fucking your husband. I want to like you and be your friend because Trevor is cool and our kids like each other, but this is bullshit. I have my own crap to worry about,” Gus declared.

“Gus, this was your idea!” Trevor pointed out.

“Yeah, it was, but I thought she could be reasoned with. But, this is crazy. She’s trying to say we’re either lying about being lesbians or we’re bisexual and will just fuck anyone that wanders into our lives. If that was the case, I’d have to worry about when the mailman is at the door everyday with Jayce and I don’t. I don’t worry about Jayce being with Trevor everyday and crap like that. I trust her and at this point I trust him. I like to think that she’s the same way. Helena, I’m going to put it to you like this: we’re going to be neighbors a really long time unless you plan on moving. Our kids are going to be friends for a very long time, even if you do move. We’re stuck with each other. So, you can either make the most of it like the three of us have or you can drive yourself batty like you have since we moved in with being hateful and suspicious. Take your pick,” Gus announced.

“You think you can just waltz in my house and give me an ultimatum? Things don’t work like that. So, you can leave,” Helena ordered.

“No problem,” Gus replied.

“Gus,” Jayce said, glancing over at Trevor.

“Look, sometimes, you just have to go to the edge, jump, and see what happens. You might fall flat on your face or you might make it to the other side. You just have to wait and see,” Gus said before marching off to retrieve their daughter. Trevor then walked them to the door.

“I’m sorry about Helena,” Trevor apologized.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble. I think she needs the push, though,” Gus said.

“I’m not sure. She’s not the type that likes pushing,” Trevor sighed.

Gus shrugged and hoped for the best. Jayce did the same and they returned home. Gus expected a scolding that did not come. Instead, they put the children to bed and curled up on the couch to unwind like always.

“How come you’re not yelling at me?” Gus inquired curiously. “I mean, this was all my bright idea and then I get Helena all riled up by getting defensive and acting like she’s got to change or else. Usually, you’d be all on my case by now.”

“I think you did the right thing. I think Helena needed to be painted into some kind of corner,” Jayce answered. “I just wish we didn’t leave Trevor to the mess.”

“I think he’ll handle it, though. Trevor is laidback and everything, but when the heat is on, he knows how to handle himself. Plus, he’s been dealing with Helena for a long time. I really think he’s got this one.”

Jayce nodded and figured that Gus was right. They were just going to have to wait and see. So, they put that out of their minds for the moment and let the night be all about them.

-8-8-8-8- 

Jayce was busy with breakfast while Gus was occupying the children. Gus-Gus had his papa and sister shell-shocked with his new pulling himself up trick. The way they were “ohh-ing,” Jayce would have thought Gus-Gus was pulling rabbits out of his hat. The doorbell rang and Octavia sprang up.

“I’ll get it, Papa!” the child declared, rushing for the door.

Gus did not say anything, but positioned herself in the living room to see the front door and keep an eye on the baby. Octavia answered the door as she was supposed, first by inquiring who was there, and then by struggling to turn the doorknob. It took her a few seconds, but she managed to get the door open and revealed Helena. 

“Hi, Miss Helena!” Octavia grinned.

“Hello, Octie. Are your moms here?” Helena asked in a friendly tone.

“Papa’s in the living room playing and Mommy’s making pancakes,” Octavia replied.

“Oh. Do you suppose you could get them for me?” Helena requested.

“You could just come in,” Gus called.

“Papa says you could come in,” Octavia said, as if Helena missed it.

Helena nodded and took a deep breath before crossing the threshold into the house. Octavia shut the door behind her and returned to the living room. Helena slowly followed the child while taking in what she could see in the foyer.

“Octie, go get your mom and then I need you to just go play in your room for a little while, okay?” Gus requested.

Octavia nodded. “Okay, Papa!”

Octavia was gone in a flash and Gus turned her attention to their guest. She motioned to the sofa, silently telling Helena to sit. Her neighbor quickly took a seat and Gus-Gus began making his way toward her, walking by gripping the edge of the sofa. Jayce stepped in and watched for a moment until the baby gave up. He flopped down to the floor.

“Helena, this is quite a surprise,” Jayce said with a smile.

“Is it?” Helena huffed.

“Considering this is the first time you’ve ever been to our doorstep, let alone in the house, yes,” Gus replied.

“What can we do for you?” Jayce asked politely. She cut her wife a glare that said Gus better also be polite.

“Last night, after you left, I’m sure you guessed that Trevor and I had a long discussion about his association with you,” Helena began.

“Yeah, we did guess that. What did you decide?” Gus inquired.

“It wasn’t that sort of discussion. Trevor wasn’t willing to bend on the idea of staying away from you two or even compromising on his friends, which I can respect. If I start picking his friends, it’s not fair to him, even if the friendship bothers me,” Helena sighed. She shook her head and appeared lost briefly.

“Then what brings you here if not to tell us to stay away from him?” Jayce asked.

Helena sighed again and glanced back and forth between the couple with a troubled look in her eyes. “I’m not entirely sure, aside from your little speech anyway. It made sense, unfortunately. A lot of sense. Our kids are best friends. Believe it or not, I know your little girl pretty well and I know she’s good for Travis. She gets him to open up and makes him smile so much. I don’t want to do anything to ruin their friendship. I spent last night arguing with Trevor, but also I spent a majority of the night listening to him.”

“What did he say?” Jayce asked, sitting down next to their guest.

“Well, of course, he said a lot. That in itself is a huge clue to me that I was wrong. Trevor is not the type of man to bark and lecture without cause. In all of our years together I can think of a handful of times that he’s been this way. When he wasn’t telling me how crazy I was for thinking that you two were trying to sleep with him, he was telling me about your relationship. He also told me about your theory, Gus, as to why I am bothered by you two.”

“What do you think?” Gus asked.

“On some level, you might be right. I actually don’t think of you as a couple. I think of you as two women who spend an awful lot of time with my husband. Looking around your home, it’s easier to picture you as a couple, especially the pictures of you together and with Octie. Even in my head, knowing Octavia the way I do, I still can’t picture you two as a couple. I actually don’t think of you as Octavia’s parent at all, Gus,” Helena admitted.

“Really? Why?” Gus inquired, having to fight off screaming, “But, I’m the papa!” Jayce reached out for her and held her hand, knowing just how much it hurt for Gus to hear that someone did not recognize her as Octavia’s parent. Gus squeezed the caramel hand gripping hers and Jayce squeezed back.

“I guess because she seems to think of you as her father. I know that you can’t be her father and therefore I have decided that you can’t be her parent if you’re not the one she thinks you are. Last night let me know that I really don’t know you two at all and I don’t want to be unfair to my family by having a bias against you. Trevor assures me that I would like you if I gave you a chance.”

“So, would you like to give us a chance?” Jayce asked with a small smile.

“I am willing to try. I don’t plan to move and you don’t plan to move, so we’re stuck with each other. Trevor proposed that we keep trying the dinner plan until we all figure out that we either can’t stand each other or we all get along and I’m willing to try,” Helena answered with a solid nod.

“This is quite a turnaround from last night,” Gus felt the need to say.

“Yes, well, Trevor hadn’t made his opinion on the matter as clear as he did until after you left. Look, I’m used to the rumors with Trevor and I know how friendly and loveable he is. The thing is … I’m not so friendly and loveable and sometimes … I worry …” Helena confessed.

“You don’t have to worry about us, Helena. I swear to you, we’re two happily married lesbians. Trevor is perfectly safe with us,” Gus declared.

“Trevor said the same thing last night,” Helena said with a chuckle.

“When you hang out with us, you’ll see. Just give us a chance. You might like us,” Jayce proclaimed, smiling.

Helena nodded. “I’m going to. You already have both my guys. I might as well as see what the hype is all about.”

“Good. So, we’ll do dinner again. How about you guys come here tonight? I’ll cook and you can bring one of your famous pies. Travis loves telling me about your baking skills whenever he has something from me,” Jayce said.

“All right. I’ll tell Trevor,” Helena decided and shook hands with Jayce and Gus.

-8-8-8-8-

“Can we watch TV?” Travis requested after dinner was over. He and his family were sharing the table with Octavia and her family.

“You know where it is. Just don’t try jamming two dvds into the player again,” Gus replied, pointing her thumb toward the living room.

“Transformers!” Travis cheered, hopping down from his cheer.

“No! Toy Story!” Octavia objected, following her friend.

“He’s so comfortable here,” Helena noted.

“He’s here as often as Octie is at your house,” Jayce reminded her.

Helena nodded. They could all tell that she was overwhelmed with everything, but she was definitely trying. Engaging her in conversation that night had been far easier than before. Still, she seemed drawn into herself and Jayce and Gus were trying to figure out how to bring her out. Gus then thought of something. 

“You know, Helena, that apple pie was freaking delicious. I liked the spices in it. Do you think you could give the recipe to Jayce? I can beg her for some whenever I do something good,” Gus remarked with a grin.

“I don’t know. I can’t just give away my baking secrets like that,” Helena replied.

“We could always do a trade. My death by chocolate cake tends to be a big hit,” Jayce said, understanding what her spouse was doing. She would also enjoy swapping baking recipes.

“Is that the cake you made last night?” Helena asked.

“Yes, it was. I know Travis loves it,” Jayce answered.

“I know he does. He already ate half of it. Or at least that’s how Trevor tells it,” Helena commented, giving her husband a suspicious glance. “I guess we could trade. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make more cakes.”

“Great! I’ve always wanted to learn how to make more pies.”

Trevor smiled and nodded. Gus had a feeling that they had just gotten their feet in the door of getting on Helena’s good side. Still, there was a long way to go.

Conversation was attempted again while the children were in the living room. Gus-Gus proved to be a good topic of conversation. He was in a “talkative” mood, making a lot of sounds as he was passed around between the adults.

“Has he spoken any real words yet?” Helena asked.

“No, probably because his papa keeps threatening that he’ll have to get a job when he starts walking and talking,” Jayce replied.

“It’s true. I’m kicking him out as soon as I can,” Gus remarked.

“You’re always going on about that, but never mention throwing out Octie. What do you have against the little guy?” Trevor asked.

“Aside from the fact that he hogs some of my favorite toys?” Gus dared to motion to her wife’s cleavage. Jayce instantly slapped her spouse’s hands down.

Trevor laughed. “Way too much information there, Gus. Besides, I think his food trumps your toys.”

“That’s why he’s got to go,” Gus proclaimed with a smirk.

“Well, Gus-Gus, once she throws you out, you’re always welcomed at my place. Travis wants a little brother anyway,” Trevor informed the baby, who did not seem to care. Augustus was focused on the parent that was planning to throw him out. Gus was making a funny face at her son.

“Have you considered having another baby?” Jayce asked, glancing between Trevor and Helena.

“It’s been considered. I think we should be able to try in another year. I need to solidify my position at work,” Helena said.

“You guys actually helped her do that. When she brought in your friends as new clients, she got promoted,” Trevor told his friends, who smiled.

“That’s great. Maybe you could add me to the list,” Gus said.

The offer intrigued Helena and she turned to look directly at Gus. “Really?”

“Yeah. I think I should pick up on advertising a little more. The company is expanding and we shouldn’t have to be our own marketing team anymore. I know I’m just a small company, but it might work out,” Gus said.

“Little company? You are sickeningly modest,” Helena commented.

“You really have been speaking with our friends,” Jayce quipped, laughing.

“Well, anyway, do you think you’re comfortable with taking me on?” Gus inquired.

“I think we should wait. If I took you on, I would want to handle your company personally to make sure everything is all right. After all, I can’t risk your company getting screwed up, you losing your money, and then Octie needing to move away,” Helena remarked.

Gus chuckled. It was farfetched and a little troubling. She had hoped that Helena would take her up on her offer and that would show her that they were not really at odds anymore. She guessed it would take more time.

-8-8-8-8-

The Tucker family and their neighbors were spending time together again. Octavia and Travis were running around in the backyard while their moms were discussing gardening. Gus and Trevor were busying themselves looking at cars on Jayce’s laptop.

“Now, I would love to drive this thing here,” Trevor said, pointing to a roadster on the screen.

“Yeah. You see that, Gus-Gus?” Gus asked the child in her arms. He cooed, but nothing more. “Listen to me, Gus-Gus, if you don’t get into cars, you’re going to end up spending your life discussing boring things like gardening with your mom.”

“I heard that!” Jayce snorted from her seat on the patio.

“Good, stop being boring then! Who spends a Saturday talking about flowers?” Gus snorted.

“At least we’ll actually be planting,” Jayce retorted.

“You two are spending your time looking at cars that you’ll never drive,” Helena added in.

“Uh-oh,” Gus realized something dangerous. Looking over at Trevor, he realized it too.

“The wives are going to double team us as soon as they’re proper friends,” Trevor whispered.

“We’re totally screwed,” Gus agreed.

“We have to do as many stupid things as possible before it’s too late and they actually start spending real time together,” Trevor decided and Gus nodded in agreement.

It did not bother them much that their wives seemed to be on the path of friendship. Trevor would like it if Helena made a friend. She did not have many thanks to her work schedule and many of her coworkers did not think that she was the type of person to hang out with. Helena’s few friends were holdovers from college.

“I don’t think you should plant all around the fence like you were going to do,” Helena advised Jayce.

“No? That’s how I had my garden at my old house. Well, that yard was much smaller,” Jayce replied.

“That is actually one reason, but the main reason is that the kids are going to be running around back here. Look at them now and imagine if you had the whole fence line planted.”

Jayce nodded and gazed out into the yard. Octavia and Travis were playing, just running around really. They were going just about everywhere in the yard they could. If she did have flowers planted all along the fence, the kids would have trampled all of them.

“I suppose I should just map out a small spot,” Jayce conceded.

“That’s what I’m going to do next year since I know to expect Octiie over more often. I have more flowers than that this year, but I didn’t know my son would befriend the Tasmanian Devil,” Helena remarked with a teasing smile.

“She does have a lot of energy, but that’s a good thing.”

“She a very sweet girl. I have to say, you two are doing a good job with her.”

Jayce smiled. “You mean despite being gay?”

“Despite nothing. I think you’re just doing a good.”

“Sorry. I get defensive about that. Sometimes people seem to think that Gus and I should fail as parents just for being gay.”

“While I have not had too much interaction with gay people, especially outside of work, it never occurred to me that you’d be judged as parents just for being gay.”

Jayce could not help smiling. “Oh, you’re just like Trevor. Don’t worry. We’ll teach you all we know of gay people.”

Helena actually laughed, which caused Jayce to smile more. Trevor and Gus glanced up at the sound. They smiled when they noticed Helena laughing. Another good sign.

“So, we were thinking about buying a couple of motorcycles,” Gus threw out there, knowing just how both of their wives would react.

“Oh, were you thinking about buying a new family while you were at it?” Jayce inquired.

“It’s just a motorcycle,” Trevor argued.

“Oh, yeah, and the minute you get hurt, it’s just a trip to the emergency room and it’s just your son being totally traumatized,” Helena chimed in.

Gus and Trevor looked at each other and shrugged. They then turned their attention back to the computer in front of them. They were pleased that everything was running smooth, but they were definitely going to miss out on a lot of fun and get into a lot of trouble when Helena decided that she liked Jayce.

-8-8-8-8-

Gus knocked on the door of her neighbor’s house. She was holding a basketball in one hand and her daughter’s hand in another. The door opened to reveal Helena.

“Hey, Octie and I are here to pick up Trevor and Travis to kick their butts at some hoops,” Gus informed her neighbor.

“They’ll be down in a second. I made Trevor go get his mouth guard. The last time he played with you, I remember he came back with a bloody mouth,” Helena commented.

“Hey, I didn’t make him put his head on my elbow!” Gus argued with a grin.

“Is that what they call ‘elbowing’ nowadays? He put his head io your elbow? You do realize he comes home less hurt when he hangs out with Ryan than with you?”

“No way! Ryan nearly killed us both last week, claiming to be teaching us how to play hockey. I honestly think it was an excuse to beat us with sticks for an hour.”

Helena rolled her eyes. “I swear, you’re all oversized children. How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

“I dunno. Probably about an hour or so. After a while, your guys start whining about girls beating them,” Gus teased.

Helena chuckled. “I’m sure you cheat,” she retorted. “I think I’ll go see Jayce then. She was telling me about her peach cobbler, which I’ve been dying to learn to make.”

“Oh, cobbler!” Octavia grinned.

“Yes, and I want to learn to make it without four drooling mouths begging to know when it’ll be done,” Helena said.

Gus threw up her hands on that one. At that moment, Trevor and Travis barreled down the stairs and out the front door. Goodbyes were said to Helena and the group was on its way to the park. Gus turned to Trevor and smiled.

“I think it’s safe to say everything is working out fine. Making it even better, we’ll probably have peach cobbler waiting for us when we get back,” Gus announced.

“Sweet,” Trevor declared with a wide grin. “I knew she’d like you guys if she gave you a chance. Thank god she can be reasoned with … and bought off with lots of sugary treats. Good thing Jayce can cook because if it was just you, we’d have been screwed.”

Gus had to laugh. “Never under estimate the power of baked goods.”

“Oh, no, I’m sure cookies have saved the world on more than one occasion,” Trevor remarked. They certainly saved and started a friendship.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the end.


	10. United Front

10: United Front

The phone ringing caused Gus to groan miserably. Rolling over, she reached for the annoying device while trying to remain asleep. Unfortunately, once she had the phone, she knew that she needed to answer it, so staying asleep was not an option.

“Hello?” Gus yawned.

“Is this the bitch?” 

Gus immediately hung up, not wanting to deal with Marion and her crazy obsession anymore. Turning onto her side, she spooned Jayce. Jayce wiggled against her.

“Who was it?” Jayce asked.

“Wrong number,” Gus mumbled and let sleep overtake her again.

The phone rang a couple more times and Gus answered again, hanging up each time. Marion Newton needed mental help, she was certain of that. Obsession did not seem to describe what was wrong with her now. Gus had already blocked the numbers that she knew were Marion’s, but now the woman seemed to be calling from pay phones or friends’ phones. Gus was going to go to the police to have it documented … again. She had already filed complaints about Marion and taken out orders of protection. The woman was not even supposed to contact them anymore in any sort of way. She kept a folder on Marion and she was starting think that she was going to have to rent out a storage unit if the woman kept on being as crazy as she was. Jail time was starting to look like a real option, too.

The Tucker household went through their normal weekday routine. Gus stepped out of the house ready for work, hugging and kissing each of her family members farewell. She held onto Jayce a little longer than usual.

“Baby, you okay?” Jayce asked in a quiet tone with concern in her voice.

“Promise me if your mother calls, you’ll just hang up,” Gus implored.

“Gus?”

“Promise me!” Gus begged.

“I promise if she calls, I’ll just hang up and I’ll call you if I need to,” Jayce vowed.

Gus breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Jay.”

The couple released each other and Gus kissed her wife once more before she walked to her car. Before she got in, a neighbor who often jogged by their house in the morning came by. He waved to them both as usual and they waved back. But, then, he paused, which was odd. It seemed like he was going to say something, but he decided to keep on going. Gus looked at Jayce, who did the same to her wife. Gus shrugged and got into her car.

Jayce returned inside of the house. She put the baby down into his chair and then went to fetch her laptop. She started working while Octavia watched morning cartoons. Everything was quiet and normal and then the phone rang.

Jayce almost gasped, but managed to hold it in. Her heartbeat sped up, though, and there was nothing that she could do about that. She answered the phone quickly because she knew that if she did not, Octavia would go for it. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to accidentally be cursed out by her very irrational mother.

“Hello?” Jayce said, voice cracking through that one word.

“Who the fuck are you to hang up on me!”

Jayce quickly disconnected the call. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and placed the phone down. She was about to go back to work, but Octavia had questions.

“Was that Papa, Mommy? If Papa calls, I wanna talk. Papa promised to take me to work and I wanna know when,” Octavia explained.

“Oh, princess, your papa said she would take you to work next week. That’s a long time from now,” Jayce pointed out. She wished that Gus would stop making future plans with Octavia beyond the child’s comprehension. Octavia did not know when “next week” was. She just knew it was a long time from now.

“No, Papa said it was soon. Really soon,” Octavia replied with an anxious look in her eyes.

Jayce groaned and palmed her face. She was going whack Gus when she saw her spouse, especially since she suspected Gus got Octavia riled up on purpose. If Octavia were keyed up about something, it would distract Jayce from being overwhelmed if, say, her mother should call.

“It’s soon in adult time,” Jayce explained, which Octavia accepted.

“Adult time weird,” the child commented with a pout.

“Yes, I know it is, but you’ll understand it better when you get older.”

Octavia nodded and then turned her attention back to the television. Jayce went back to work and then the phone rang again. Jayce’s blood ran cold as she answered and then quickly hung up again. Taking a few deep breaths to keep calm, she silently prayed that her morning was not shaping up as it seemed it was.

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce and the children entered the house after a spontaneous trip to the park; Octavia had insisted on it and it was a good way for Jayce to escape the constant ringing of the house phone. Lunch was made for Octavia and then she was down for the count, needing her afternoon nap. Jayce then fed Gus-Gus and put him down for his nap, too. Once she was certain both of the children were asleep, she was grabbed the phone and dialed.

“Hey, sweetheart, how’s your day going?” Gus asked, answering Jayce’s call.

“Baby, she keeps calling and I keep hanging up, but she keeps calling!” Jayce sniffled, doing her best to hold in tears, but it was so difficult.

“Jay, calm down. If it gets really bad, just call the police. She shouldn’t be calling us in the first place. Okay?”

“I know, I know. It’s still so frustrating! The courts already told her to leave us alone and she keeps on going. I really don’t want to be the one to send my mother to jail or something. And, why the hell is she calling so much now? Why today?” Jayce begged.

“I don’t know, baby. Ignore her. I’ll handle it,” Gus promised in a gentle tone.

“I know you will, but it’s just so annoying. Why can’t she just leave us alone?”

“Because she’s out of her mind. I think losing to two lesbians, especially you, has driven her over the edge. For your whole life, she was able to control you and torment you and then you finally broke free and took Octie with you. I really think that drove her insane.”

Jayce nodded. “Not to mention, her precious son practically sold us Octie.”

“There is that.”

“Although I like to think that Q was having a lucid moment and realized what was best for her.”

“I’m sure that was the case, but, of course, your mother doesn’t see it that way. Don’t let her get to you, sweetheart.”

“I’m trying. I’m really trying. It’s just the sound of her voice and her shrieks remind me of when I was younger and I just want to crawl into a ball sometimes, as if that’ll make her go away,” Jayce explained with a whimper.

“Do you want me to call Trevor and tell him to come sit with you? Octie would like Travis’ company I bet,” Gus proposed.

“No. I don’t want to have to explain to him why I need a babysitter … not that I need a babysitter at all! I can handle it,” Jayce asserted.

“Baby, there is no shame in being shaken up by your mother. She’s tormented you for your entire life. She’s pretty much your equivalent to the boogie-man, except she’s real. The monster in your closet is very, very real. It’s understandable that she still has the ability to make you uncomfortable, even though you logically know she can’t do anything to you.”

Jayce sighed and tucked her feet underneath her. “I hate this feeling. I hate her butting in. Sometimes I feel like … I feel like … I hate her …” she admitted and it was a tough thing to say, but she truly felt like she hated her own mother. _How horrible is that! I would die if Octie or Gus-Gus grew up and hated me!_

“Marion has done nothing in this life to gain your trust or your love, but everything in her power to gain your contempt. Don’t feel guilty about it. Use it to push her further out of your life.”

“I know I should …” Jayce whimpered.

“It’ll do you some good. If you finally let go, she won’t have this power to make you crazy.”

“I know, I know. I really do.”

Gus sighed. “Baby, I need to go.” 

“Oh, right. Go create, sweetheart. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

The call was disconnected and it was Jayce’s turn to sigh. She put the phone down and curled into herself. Lost in her thoughts on what to do with her mother, she was surprised when familiar, strong arms wrapped around her.

“Gus? When did you come in?” Jayce asked, wondering if she had daydreamed through hours in the day. Glancing over at the baby and seeing that he was still asleep, only confused her further.

“I just did. When I hung up with you, I left work and came home. You sounded like you needed somebody,” Gus explained with a small smile.

“I always need you.”

Gus smiled even more. “I always need you too. I want you to know I also reported your mother yet again, so this is just something else that will make sure she can never have our little princess. Okay?”

Jayce nodded because reporting her mother was the right thing to do. Of course, she did not have the courage to do it, but Gus was there and always took care of things. She gave her wife a very sweet, compassionate smile as she recalled that Gus always handled things that she found too difficult.

“I know she’ll never get her. She’s already done so much that no one in their right mind would give Octavia to her, but I think it’s like you said. For me, Marion Newton is a living, breathing boogieman. I need to get over her. I need to stop being afraid of her. Nothing she can do can touch me. She might as well be as fictional as the boogieman,” Jayce declared.

Gus nodded. “This is quite true. I think you should look at her like that. I also think that we should start calling her by name.”

“By name?”

“It rings false when we call her your mother. Nothing that woman has ever done toward you has been motherly. Marion has been a bitch to you for your whole life. From now on, her name is Marion if she is to be addressed at all. Although, you might want to try what I call her when you’re not around.”

Jayce smirked slightly. “Do I even want to know?”

“When I’m just pissed, I call her ‘the bitch.’ How original I know. But, most of the time I just refer to her as ‘cujo.’ Wanna try that? Wanna try calling Marion ‘cujo’?” Gus asked, rocking her wife slightly.

Jayce laughed. “I can’t believe you.”

“I swear to you, I do. You could call my office right now. They’ll tell you how I was complaining that Cujo called this morning and wrecked my sleep. They think our neighborhood is full of rabid dogs with cell phones or something.”

Jayce laughed again and moved until she was comfortably pressed against her spouse. She then settled against Gus. The couple sighed together.

“You’re going to stay for the rest of the day?” Jayce asked.

“Do you want me to?” Gus countered.

“Of course, I want you to. If I could, I’d never let you leave the house. But, for the matter at hand, I think you could go back to work. I’ve been handling it better than I have in the past. I wasn’t even crying when you came in,” the dark-eyed woman remarked with a smile.

“You are right about that, precious. You certainly weren’t crying, which is a good thing. I’ll stay until the kids get up. How’s that?”

“Perfect.”

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce stepped outside with the kids. Octavia leaped off of the porch, wanting to ride her tricycle. Jayce looked over to the house next door, expecting to see Trevor and Travis come out. Travis was the only one, though. He charged over to their yard, waving at Jayce. He then went to Octavia and they proceeded to do what they do.

Jayce glanced over at the house again, wondering where Trevor was. He did not come out, so she focused back on the children. Octavia and Travis were on the sidewalk with the tricycle. Gus-Gus was busying himself by standing up and trying to walk. He mostly just fell back onto Jayce.

“You are just going to hurt yourself, Lil Caesar. Your papa would be very upset if she came home and found you with a scar,” Jayce commented.

Gus-Gus’ response was to blow a raspberry at his mother. She laughed, which seemed to spur him on. He rambled in his own way, sans words of course. Jayce pretended to admonish him for not being able to say something that at least resembled the English language.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jayce noticed someone step out of Trevor’s home, but it was not Trevor. A regular looking fellow in a blue bowling shirt exited the house, followed by Trevor. The guy glanced over at them as he walked to him car. Trevor was frowning and shaking his head. He stood on the sidewalk until the car pulled off. He then made his way to Jayce’s house.

“Something wrong?” Jayce asked because Trevor’s expression was still tense.

“Something is wrong and weird. That guy knocked on the door like right before we were going to come over and he started asking a bunch of questions about you, Gus, and the kids,” Trevor answered in a baffled tone.

“What? Me, Gus, and the kids?” Jayce’s eyebrows curled up and her eyes begged for more information.

“Like I said, it was weird. He claimed he was like your cousin or something and he wanted to surprise you with something, so he was asking all of these questions. I didn’t like it. I didn’t tell him anything, but it was still creepy.”

Jayce nodded. “Maybe I should call the police. I mean, I’ve never seen that guy in my entire life, so he’s not related to me in the slightest. Something is going on here.”

“I assumed as much. I didn’t know what to do, though. Like I said, it was weird.”

“Yeah, so you keep saying. What did he ask you?”

“He wanted to know if Gus worked a lot and wasn’t home often, if she could afford to take care of all of you, if the kids were ever cared for right or left alone a lot, and stuff that just didn’t seem really relevant to any surprise he could have been planning. It was a lot of prying if you ask me and I didn’t want any parts of it. I only gossip with other housewives, thank you very much,” Trevor remarked.

Jayce laughed. “I’m nervous now. Why the hell is this guy interested in me and my family? Why is he questioning you about us?”

“I dunno. Like I said, he claimed he was trying to surprise you. You’re not in any kind of trouble, right?” Trevor asked with concern.

“None I can think of. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“If something is going on, just me know what I can do to help.”

“I will let you know if you can help, but right now, I don’t know what’s going on,” she pointed out again. She was not sure what to think of some stranger asking around about her and her family to her neighbor. It did cause a quiver in her gut, though.

-8-8-8-8-

Gus pulled into the driveway and was ambushed by Octavia and Travis, both wanting to greet her. She smiled and they gave her hugs. She lifted them up while making her way to the front porch where Jayce was trying to get Gus-Gus to say “mama” from what the businesswoman could tell.

“How long have you been holding him inches from your face and just saying ‘mama’ over and over again?” Gus asked curiously.

“It feels like years! He just keeps looking at me like I’m an idiot. I feel like in his head he’s going, ‘who is this mama you speak of?’ I don’t think he’s ever going to say anything,” Jayce sighed.

“It’s just our luck that he’s been speaking this whole time, but it’s probably Italian,” Gus joked. “Where’s your friend?”

“Trevor went to do some work, so it’s just been me and the little bits for an hour. I figured we’d stay out here until you got home. It’s been getting a little chilly,” Jayce said.

Gus nodded in agreement and carried the children inside while Jayce followed behind her. Travis and Octavia were deposited on the couch and cartoons were put on the television. Jayce put Gus-Gus down, hoping that he would practice on trying to walk again. If he would not talk, walking would be greatly celebrated.

“Gus, can I speak with you in the kitchen?” Jayce requested.

“Sure. Something up, sweetheart?” Gus asked, following her wife into the kitchen.

“Gus, Trevor said some guy pretending to be my cousin was asking about us and our family. It’s been bugging me all day. I don’t get why someone would do something like that, but then I thought about how my …” Jayce trailed off and grunted before correcting herself. “Marion has been calling nonstop. She was screaming about having evidence on us before.”

Gus nodded. “You think she’s taking a little fishing expedition to find stuff on us.”

“Yes.”

Gus waved it off. “She can dig all she wants, but what’s she going to find? That we’re two of the most boring people on Earth? So boring that our own son doesn’t even want to talk to us?”

A chuckle escaped Jayce. “He doesn’t want to talk because you’re going to kick him. But, seriously, what if she does get something?”

“What can she possibly get, baby? Do either of us molest our children?”

“No!”

“Then her quest is over right there since she’s so obsessed with us touching them. But, even if it wasn’t that, what else could she get us on? Neglect? If our kids got anymore spoiled, Octie would have a freaking driver to bring her from the living room to her bedroom. Abuse? We’re too chicken to even follow through with time-outs sometime. Remember that one time we tried to send Octavia to bed with no dessert? I haven’t felt that guilty since I got you fired!” Gus threw her hands up.

There were more giggles. “Thankfully Octie isn’t bad. If Gus-Gus is a trouble-maker, you are going to have to sharpen your papa discipline skills.”

Gus smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll have it under control. I’m kicking him out, anyway.”

“You’re so awful.”

“I know. Do you feel better?”

“I do. I am just nervous about Marion having someone asking around about us, especially our neighbors. God, Gus, this neighborhood could get our kids taken away!” Jayce realized and she started hyperventilating.

Gus acted quickly, taking the smaller woman into her arms. She slowly massaged the small of Jayce’s back, which helped her calm down. She whispered loving, soothing words to her shaken spouse.

“We shouldn’t have moved! The old neighborhood, everyone loved us and would’ve chased this guy away with pitchforks!” Jayce muttered.

“Baby, calm down. Nothing is going to happen. Just calm down. Remember, you’re not giving Cujo power over you anymore. You freaking out means she has control,” Gus reminded her spouse.

“Right, right.” Jayce took several deep breaths and settled against Gus’ firm form.

“We’re going to be fine. She hasn’t been able to touch us and she won’t be able to touch us. I’m going to get on the phone with our lawyer right now and stop anything that Marion might even think she’s going to do, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now, let me go hang out with my kids. I bet I could get Gus-Gus to say ‘papa’ before you get him to say ‘mama,’” Gus teased. 

“No, you can’t. He likes me more. I’m not planning to throw him out and I’m the one with the milk!” Jayce remarked.

Gus made a face at her spouse before slipping out of the kitchen and going upstairs. She returned downstairs showered and changed. Wasting no time, she joined the kids in the living room and scooped her baby boy up into her arms. Gus-Gus cuddled into as he often did. 

“So, guys, what’re we watching?” Gus asked and then she made a face at the baby, earning a giggle from him.

“Ninja Cats and Samurai Rabbits,” Travis answered, not turning from the TV.

“That’s the show with all of the crazy lights and karate?” Gus recalled.

“Yup,” Octavia replied.

“Me and Gus-Gus are going to go read Horton Hears a Who. Call me when this is over,” Gus said.

“Wait! We like Horton too!” Octavia reminded her papa, pointing to herself and Travis.

“A lot!” the boy added.

Gus chuckled; Horton got them away from the television every time. Octavia and Travis grabbed the books and she started the story. Whenever she got to words that they knew, she let them take over. They were distracted when the bell rang. Jayce stepped out of the kitchen to get the door. Helena was there.

“I hear you’re hoarding my son over here,” Helena remarked.

“Miss Gus is reading Horton to us, Mom,” Travis informed his mother, leaning back in the living room in order to see his mother.

“Oh, that is nice,” Helena muttered, sounding a little surprised. “Speaking of Gus, I need to speak to you and Jayce for a moment.”

The couple exchanged a look. “I didn’t do it!” Gus declared with a grin.

Helena shook her head. “Seriously, I need to speak with you both for a moment.”

Gus turned her attention back to the kids. “Octie, you and Travis watch your brother for a while and try to read as much of the book to him as you can.”

Octavia nodded while Travis was in awe that they were being given such responsibility as Gus put the baby down. She then climbed to her feet and the three women stepped into the kitchen. Gus stood close to Jayce and held onto her hand, having a feeling that Helena was not the bearer of good news.

“Today, while I was at my office a man came into see me and started asking about the two of you. He wanted to know about your family and what kind of people you were. I thought that was odd in and of itself and then when I told Trevor, he said the same thing happened to him. What’s going on?” Helena inquired.

Jayce pressed herself closer to Gus while the businesswoman groaned. “A woman that won’t quit is what’s going on.”

“What do you mean?” Helena asked. “Whatever mess you two might be involved in, I can’t afford to have it following me to work or harassing my husband at home.”

Gus waved her off, understanding Helena’s somewhat bitchy attitude. “Agreed. It will be handled ASAP. I assure you we’re not involved anything that could be harmful to you or your family.”

“Then what the hell is going on?” Helena demanded.

“It’s my fault,” Jayce said.

“It is not your fault! You don’t have any control over Marion being completely insane,” Gus pointed out.

“Who is Marion?” Helena asked.

“Octavia’s grandmother. She wasn’t particularly happy that Octavia ended up with us. She’s been harassing us ever since. She’s actually been torturing Jayce for her entire life,” Gus replied.

Helena nodded and rubbed her chin in thought. “That explains his odd interest in how you two were as parents. He seemed to want to know _how_ you abuse Octie, not _if_ you do it.”

“Bastard,” Gus growled. “You know what, I’m ending this right now,” she proclaimed, pulling out her cell phone. She released Jayce and marched off deeper into the house.

“Jayce, if there’s anything I can do to help, please, just tell me. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but a blind man would be able to see that you two are great parents and I don’t want Octie to be hurt,” Helena said.

“I don’t know if there’s anything you can do right now. My moth—Marion—is just fishing for things now. She doesn’t have anything to use against us, so she’s trying to find stuff,” Jayce explained. “She might resort to making things up or paying people to make things up. She’s done it before.”

“Your own mother?” Helena asked, obviously catching Jayce’s slip.

“She never loved me and it only got worse when I came out as a lesbian. She’s made it her life’s mission to destroy me,” Jayce sighed.

“Seriously, Jayce, you need help, you ask us. I’m not going to have my son’s best friend taken away from very outstanding parents,” Helena vowed.

“Thank you for that.”

“I mean it,” Helena said. “Trevor too. He told me to restate what he told you this afternoon. I believe he told me to say that he has your back. He even volunteered to put feelers out through the neighborhood to find out if this guy talked to anyone else and what they might have said if he did.”

Jayce smiled, happy that there were people rallying around them. She was going to be in for a bigger shock later on. A few days after the questions started for Trevor and Helena, other neighbors approached Jayce, saying a man was questioning them about the Tuckers. Jayce was surprised that even though many of her neighbors did not agree with her lifestyle, they refused to badmouth her as a mother to some outsider. They also refused to badmouth Gus. Some of them even called the police. Jayce could not believe it. Apparently, the neighbors were not the hurtful as she had assumed them to be.

-8-8-8-8-

Jayce was cuddled on the couch with Gus after a particularly stressful week. Gus massaged her back all the way down to her calf. She had almost offered to mix Jayce a drink to get her to relax, but Jayce was still breastfeeding … and might never stop if Gus-Gus had his way. 

“I thought for sure this neighborhood would jump at the chance to crucify us,” Jayce muttered.

“I thought so too, but I think I should have known better. I mean, any neighborhood that has Trevor, Glenn, and Ryan in it can’t be all bad. Besides, even if they did lie, they wouldn’t be able to lie in court,” Gus pointed out.

“This is true. Speaking of court, will this make it to a courtroom?”

“No, but that bitch might. I had recordings of her calling from when I answered the phone and those went on her record. At this point, our lawyer is trying to make it so if that woman so much as breathes in our direction she’ll go to jail. She thought she was being slick with this phone call bullshit, but that stops now. We’re pushing for some jail time and she’s up to ears in fines and misdemeanors.”

“Jail time?” Jayce echoed in disbelief. “Marion might actually go to jail?”

“Yeah, it’s possible. Of course, it wouldn’t be too long. She’s definitely going to be tied up in court for a while.”

Jayce nodded. “And the guy asking around about us?”

“We can’t do much about the guy she hired unless he starts trying to talk to us and bother us, then we can get him for harassment and stalking, which our neighbors are also looking to do on my suggestion. They don’t want any trouble and they don’t like this guy lurking around.”

“So, you really do have this under control,” Jayce said with a smile, leaning over to give her spouse a small kiss.

“I’m going to take care of my family, baby. I’m sorry I let this get this out of control. I thought threatening her and keeping tabs was enough, but obviously not. Never again. From now on, the second you tell me you think that bitch is doing something to you or calling the house, or just anything, I’m on it and she’s in jail. I’m never letting it get to this point again.”

Jayce smiled. It was not really at “a point” and Gus was already on it. It was phone calls, threats, and a PI asking about them, but Gus was determined to make them go away. And she knew that Gus would. Gus would do everything in her power to keep them safe.

“I love you,” Jay whispered before leaning in for a proper kiss.

“I love you too,” Gus replied as they broke for air.

“I know.”

Gus smiled before going in for another kiss. After speaking with their lawyer, she knew that Marion Newton had nothing to stand on and nothing to bring to court without tempting the judge to her in jail. And now, Marion had to deal with her own problems rather than creating new ones for Jayce and their family. Gus doubted that it would teach Marion a lesson, but it would keep her occupied for a while.

Gus needed to stay on top of things, though to make sure that her wife had peace of mind. Jayce being able to live a happy life with her and their children was one of the most important jobs that Gus had and she took it very seriously. So, never again would she allow Marion a chance to cause as much as a hiccup in Jayce’s life. _Never again_.

“How about we take this upstairs and I show you how much I love you?” Jayce proposed.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Gus grinned. The couple disappeared upstairs. They checked on their sleeping children before ending up in their own bedroom. For a moment, they both just appreciated the present and thought on the bright future ahead of them before focusing on how much they loved each other.

-8-8-8-8-

The end.

I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading. I’m returning to my padded cell. Hopefully, you’ll be back for another story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna see more of my fanfics, they're all at FFN under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fanfiction.net/~starvinglunatic). If you wanna see some original stories, you can look at FP under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fictionpress.com/u/576301/).


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